Through this registration, Planet Payment can provide processing support for China UnionPay's credit and debit cards in both card present and card-not-present environments directly to banks and acquirers on a worldwide basis.

Launched in 2002, China UnionPay has become one of the largest card brands in the world with over 2.8 billion cards issued worldwide. With the agreement announced today, Planet Payment is adding support of China UnionPay to its transaction platform, providing acquirers and their merchants with an efficient way to accept UnionPay credit and PIN debit card transactions for all merchant market segments, including eCommerce, Retail, Restaurant and Hospitality. Now financial institutions located in any country where Planet Payment operates can sign an acquiring agreement with UnionPay and utilize Planet Payment for connectivity to UnionPay. The targeted launch date for the Planet Payment China UnionPay service for the hospitality vertical is in the second quarter of 2012.

In addition, Planet Payment will be enhancing iPay, the Company's e-commerce payment gateway, to include support for China UnionPay's new UnionPay Online Payment (UPOP) service. UPOP provides merchants with the facility to authenticate and process UnionPay debit cards online, providing merchants with better access to the burgeoning Chinese e-commerce space which is projected to overtake the United States as the largest e-commerce market by 2015. The targeted launch date for the UPOP service is in the second quarter of 2012.

"China UnionPay is one of the world's leading bankcard schemes," said Philip D. Beck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Planet Payment. "With this new agreement, our acquirer or processor customers globally can accept UnionPay credit and PIN debit cards, enabling merchants to sell more goods and services to Chinese cardholders and tapping into one of the largest markets for potential new customers. Also, we are delighted to be one of the first payment gateways to support UPOP which provides merchants and Chinese consumers with an easier way to transact online."