A first for Samoa

24 June 2016, 12:00AM

The ANZ Bank has announced that ANZ point-of-sale (P.O.S) and A.T.M terminals in Samoa will begin accepting UnionPay cards, enhancing service and convenience for UnionPay cardholders worldwide.

ANZ is the first bank across nine countries in the Pacific, including Samoa, to accept UnionPay E.M.V on A.T.Ms, UnionPay’s more secure card solution for both credit and debit cards.

UnionPay is the most commonly used payment tool by outbound Chinese people, with 5.4 billion cards issued globally. Currently, UnionPay cards can be accepted in 157 countries and regions.

“As a bank that’s been in the Pacific for 135 years and operating across 34 countries around the world, we recognised that we needed to expand our card payment options to support customers’ growing cross-border activities and make payments simpler and more convenient for them while they are in our region,” said ANZ Regional Executive – Pacific Islands, Tessa Price.

“As China’s leading card network, having UnionPay enabled across our regional network is a significant step for ANZ and I’m pleased to see it come to fruition today.”

The announcement follows-on from a successful launch of UnionPay P.O.S and A.T.M acceptance by ANZ in Australia in June 2015 and New Zealand in January 2016.

Cai Jianbo, Chief Executive Officer for UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay said: “The South Pacific Island States are an integral part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. 

“With the increasingly frequent economic and trade contacts between China and the region, we are devoted to improving the local UnionPay acceptance environment so as to provide payment convenience to UnionPay cardholders visiting the countries. 

“Our cooperation with ANZ not only substantially improved UnionPay’s acceptance footprint and card-using experiences in South Pacific, but will also lay a solid foundation for card-issuance there in the future. 

“Local issuance of UnionPay cards will offer new payment option for the local residents, and provide bidirectional support for the implementation of the ‘Belt and Road’ Strategy.”

UnionPay card acceptance will be introduced to ANZ EFTPOS terminals and A.T.Ms across a further two countries in Asia this year.

24 June 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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