On March 1, China UnionPay and Visa, a world leader in digital payments, jointly announced their cooperation to establish the "Visa - UnionPay Zone for Beijing Central Axis" (the "Zone" for short), aimed at making Beijing China's top destination for inbound tourism by offering diverse payment services. This project is set to further enable the use of foreign bank cards for payments, withdrawals and other services in more areas. Specifically, through methods such as upgrading the point-of-sale (POS) terminals and enhancing businesses' capabilities in terms of payment acceptance and service provision. These improvements are set to cater to the payment preferences of consumers from around the globe, thus ensuring more friendly and convenient experiences for foreign consumers visiting Beijing and other parts of China.

Launching ceremony for the construction of the Zone

The Zone will provide a diverse range of payment services, such as full-scenario acceptance of foreign bank cards, multiple innovative payment options, accessible ATM cash withdrawal services, and enhanced payment security measures. Key businesses in the Zone will fully support payments, both swiping and contactless, with UnionPay, Visa, and other bank cards issued overseas. Additionally, the Zone will support payments via overseas UnionPay-powered e-wallets and domestic e-wallets linked to foreign bank cards, to cater to the payment preferences of inbound tourists.

UnionPay, in collaboration with acquiring institutions, will promote the use of innovative payment devices enabling payments through bank cards and QR codes, to ensure comprehensive support of bank cards, QR codes, and mobile payment services. It will also partner with the Bank of Beijing and the China Unicom (Beijing) to launch the "TRAVEL PASS" (Changyoutong) inbound service plan, which provides a range of services for overseas visitors, including QR code payment, portable Wi-Fi, and translation services.

Visa is planning to collaborate with the Bank of Beijing, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the Bank of Communications, Lakala, and other acquiring institutions to deploy innovative, low-cost payment terminals across the Zone. These include MIS integrated cashier devices enabling payments through both cards and QR codes. All ATMs within the Zone and surrounding regions support cash withdrawals with foreign bank cards issued by UnionPay, Visa and other service providers. Concurrently, Visa will launch training programs targeted at the businesses in the Zone to guide overseas visitors to the designated cash withdrawal facilities based on the needs of these visitors. Visa will further strengthen coordination with financial institutions and acquiring institutions to streamline POS terminal interfaces and operational protocols.

To further improve accessibility, UnionPay will introduce senior-friendly payment services and barrier-free acceptance terminals at popular attractions and commercial areas along the Central Axis, to make sure that seniors, people with disabilities, and foreign tourists can benefit from digital payment services equally. Additionally, UnionPay is working closely with industrial partners to continuously optimize payment acceptance environments, expand its network coverage, and steadily realize the payment acceptance for small and micro-sized businesses. The "BOC SplendorPlus Card", a UnionPay product tailored for inbound visitors, will be issued in greater numbers overseas. UnionPay will also strengthen the promotion of its overseas partner wallets to actively meet cross-border payment needs.

(Source: Beijing Daily)