WorldPay and China UnionPay Partner on E-commerce
A partnership between WorldPay, a payment processing company, and China UnionPay, a card scheme company, will see WorldPay become the biggest acquirer outside of China for e-commerce UnionPay transactions. The agreement will see WorldPay become the first UnionPay online payment acquirer in the US and the vast majority of Europe, to enable merchants to sell directly to consumers in China, as well as UnionPay cardholders outside of China.
This agreement will allow merchants to tap into Chinese spending power, which has grown exponentially in the last few years. The middle class population has risen from 35 million households in 2006 and is expected to top 100 million by 2016, while the number of dollar millionaires rose 10% in a year to 960,000.
Ron Kalifa, chief executive officer (CEO), WorldPay: “China is rapidly overtaking many nations to become one of the biggest spending powers in the world. The announcement today between WorldPay and China UnionPay is incredibly significant for merchants that want to sell to China online. E-commerce has removed geographical boundaries, opening up the opportunities for merchants to sell to consumers regardless of country or origin. WorldPay is now able to make this a reality for merchants that want to sell to China, opening up a lucrative market.”
Selfridges was the first retailer in UK to introduce China UnionPay terminals, provided by Streamline, and following a successful implementation has continued to roll-out more terminals across its stores.
Meave Wall, store director, Selfridges, said: “The number of Chinese visitors to the UK has grown exponentially in the last few years. China UnionPay is one of the most widely recognised card schemes in the world, and since the introduction of China UnionPay terminals in our stores we have seen a significant increase in the footfall of Chinese visitors and the amount of money they spend, particularly on our luxury brand ranges.”