UnionPay International has reported ‘record growth’ over the recent holiday season, which it partly attributes to the increasing number of Chinese tourists using its cards and mobile payment services.

UnionPay enjoyed an increase in its total transactions of +36.8% to reach a new ‘record high’ of RMB700.8bn (€89.7bn) over the holiday period (30 Dec 2017 to 1 Jan 2018), compared to the same period last year.

According to UnionPay, Chinese Tourists now use UnionPay cards and mobile payments, including UnionPay QR code and UnionPay contactless QuickPass, in more international destinations as reported.

It claims it has benefited from the increasing acceptance of UnionPay mobile QuickPass outside mainland China, and has recorded exceptional growth in countries such as Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia.

A growth in use of UnionPay cards in emerging tourist destinations such as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Czech Republic has been ‘remarkable’ too, says the firm.

EXPANSION PLANS

UnionPay says it plans to expand its acceptance network to Russia this year as it has become a popular destination for Chinese tourists.

It expects to be accepted at more than 90% of Russia’s local ATMs and POS terminals before the 2018 World Cup, so cardholders can enjoy convenient payment experiences in cities like Moscow, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg and Volgograd.

The latest statistics from World Without Borders reveals that approximately 900,000 Chinese tourists visited Russia in 2017, and around 100,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit Russia for the 2018 World Cup.

As such, UnionPay adds that a convenient payment service is key to enhancing the travel experience for Chinese tourists in Russia.