China UnionPay boosted by Russian Bank deal

Making payments in Russia using China UnionPay is to become easier thanks to a deal signed with a major Russian bank.

China UnionPay [File photo: baidu.com]

China UnionPay and Sberbank of Russia have agreed that by the end of June, all of the Russian bank's ATMs will provide a China UnionPay service. Within three years, all Sberbank's commercial clients can be paid using the UnionPay facility, reports CCTV.

It is expected that by the end of this year, the coverage of UnionPay cards service by ATMs and traders in Russia will have been increased to 80%, from 30% and 50 % respectively.

As things stand, 340,000 POS terminals and 40,000 ATMs provide UnionPay cards service in Russia. It's expected that by the year end, 50,000 Point of Sale (POS) terminals will provide the Quick Pass payment facility.

The expansion of the UnionPay card service in Russia will focus on thousands of traders in the most-visited cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Haishenwai, and on shopping malls, boutiques, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.

China UnionPay is the fastest growing payment system in the world. Founded in 2002, there have been over 6.5 billion active branded bank cards, which are accepted in over 160 countries.

Sberbank of Russia is the largest bank in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe.