UnionPay International Launches Mobile Wallet

UnionPay International has today announced that it has rolled out the mobile payment product of Huawei Pay in Pakistan. This has been done in partnership with Huawei and the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), one of the largest commercial banks in Pakistan.

The new service allows local Huawei/Honor phone users to pay via both contactless and QR code payments and is the card scheme’s first mobile-wallet service to feature dual payment options overseas. These can be applied to any NFC-enabled smartphone. With this function, users only need to link their card to their mobile phone once, and then access multiple mobile payment methods.

Users in Pakistan can link UnionPay cards issued by NBP to the mobile-wallet app Huawei Pay and then can choose to make tap&go or scan&go payments as they like or according to the acceptance condition of a particular merchant. Additionally, users can access the payment function conveniently by fingerprint authentication, without having to open the app.

As the adoption of mobile payment services gathers momentum, UnionPay International has expanded its services outside mainland China. To appeal to users in different regions, UPI has developed products based on two payment methods, QR code and contactless – providing a seamless payment experience whenever, wherever.

The launch of the dual payment function will enable UPI’s partner institutions to provide their customers with diverse and more flexible mobile payment services with higher efficiency.

Several factors contributed to the launch of the new function in Pakistan. A locale where mobile payment gets a boost with an increasing number of young people relying on smartphones and digital wallets to make payments. Meanwhile, UnionPay is accepted nationwide with some 300 thousand merchants accepting payment by UnionPay QR code.

And with 12.6 million cards issued locally, UnionPay is the second-largest international card scheme in terms of card issuance in Pakistan, with over 2.75 million issued in partnership with NBP.

To date, over 4.5 million merchants outside the Chinese mainland accept UnionPay mobile service in 57 countries and regions. A total of 53 mobile-wallet products developed or upgraded based on UnionPay’s technical standards have been launched in 13 markets, offering local customers mobile contactless or QR code payment services.