UnionPay International announced the launch of its Mobile Phone as POS (MPP) product in overseas markets. Small businesses are able to turn smartphones into POS terminals at a low cost and with zero technical modification, and support multiple types of UnionPay payments such as card/phone tap and QR Code. Hong Kong fintech SPECTRA Technologies, Malaysia’s AmBank Group and payment company Soft Space became the first group of organizations to provide this service to their merchants.
A number of survey reports indicate that more and more consumers have been shifting towards contact-free payments since the COVID-19 outbreak. UnionPay International, in joint efforts with payment partners, has worked to enable more than 10 million merchants outside of the Chinese mainland to support UnionPay mobile QuickPass and QR Code payment, minimizing cash usage and physical contact that may occur in face-to-face payments while improving the checkout experience. UPI also launched the PaybyLink solution, with which merchants are able to accept payments online without the need to set up an e-commerce store, so that more small and micro businesses outside of the Chinese mainland benefit from the adoption of mobile payments.
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The MPP product will further lower the acceptance threshold for merchants as they can simply download a designated app onto a smartphone, complete the registration and review online before the service is activated. Additional hardware is not required.
The product has been warmly received by acquirers and merchants upon the launch. In the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo that recently opened, more than 100 exhibitors tried to take payments with the MPP product. A spokesperson for the AmBank Group said that given the product’s strong operability and low cost, the Bank will encourage more SMEs to support UnionPay.
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Accepting UnionPay payment services will bring a wide range of local and cross-border traffic to overseas merchants. Currently, UnionPay cards have been issued in 70 countries and regions around the world, and over 160 million have been issued outside the Chinese mainland; more than 100 UnionPay standard digital wallets have been rolled out in more than 20 countries and regions in multiple forms such as the UnionPay App, OEM Pay and QR Code wallet.
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