UnionPay International (UPI), which is a subsidiary of China UnionPay, has reportedly received an operating license from the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT).
Its representatives say the company has begun to gain momentum due to its flexible tariff policy and cheaper service
The first payment cards of UPI were issued in Tajikistan in 2014 and Spitamen Bank was one of the first banks in the country to make this payment system available.
UnionPay has a line of payment cards in Tajikistan: Classic; Gold; and Platinum.
Spitamen Bank issues the Classic, Gold и Platinum cards.
Eskhata Bank issues the Classic and Gold cards.
The International Bank of Tajikistan reportedly issues only the Platinum payment card. It also issues the so-called Co-Brand cards.
As of July 1, 2020, 170,000 holders of UnionPay cards were in Tajikistan.
Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank, one of the leaders in the banking sector in Kazakhstan, in early November this year announced the first UnionPay International card transaction in Central Asia and the CIS in the Halyk POS mobile application.
Mr. Kuanysh Tankiyev, Country Manager, Central Asia at UnionPay International, says they will continue developing and introducing products jointly with financial institutions for all cardholders.
“Our company will actively seek cooperation with local partners in the field of payment with use of QR-codes and NFC as well as issuance of cards through e-wallets for the purpose of helping ensuring financial affordability in Tajikistan due to introducing digital payments,” Tankiyev said.
UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business outside of China. In partnership with more than 2300 institutions worldwide, UPI has enabled card acceptance in 179 countries with issuance in 61 countries, including Russia. UPI provides high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world’s largest cardholder base and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants. UnionPay, also known as China UnionPay or by its abbreviation, CUP or UPI internationally, is a Chinese financial services corporation headquartered in Shanghai, China. It provides bank card services and a major card scheme in mainland China.
Founded on March 25, 2002, China UnionPay is an association for China's banking card industry, operating under the approval of the People's Bank of China (PBOC, central bank of China). It is also the only interbank network in China that links all the automatic teller machine (ATMs) of all banks throughout the country. It is also an electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) network.
UnionPay is the largest card payment organization (debit and credit cards combined) in the world offering mobile and online payments based on total value of payment transactions, ahead of Visa and Mastercard.
