European merchants will be able to benefit from the purchase power of a new generation of individual travelers, both in-store and in e-Commerce.

The “Europe Card” card targets Chinese consumers traveling to Europe for business or leisure purposes. This audience has long been identified as very attractive, especially with high end merchants, who will also benefit from intensive card usage promotion: as an incentive during the launch phase, cardholders are eligible for up to 5% cash back for purchases at selected merchants. Thanks to the collaboration with SIX, Swiss jewelers Bucherer and Beyer are amongst these premium partners.

The new Europe card is a further addition to the successful Bank of China’s “Travel Mate Credit Card” programme of approximately 2 million Cards, including Korea Card, Japan Card and USA Card, all based on the UnionPay scheme.

SIX has been UnionPay’s European acquiring partner for 10 years now, during which UnionPay rose to number one card scheme worldwide, even surpassing Visa in 2015 in terms transaction volume and card population. In Switzerland alone, 90% of the merchant customers of SIX accept UnionPay cards. By adding UnionPay to its e-commerce portfolio SIX will enable its merchant customers to target Chinese consumers through their web channel, for example for individual travelers’ hotel bookings or online shopping.

Commenting on the launch, Jürg Weber, Division CEO SIX Payment Services said: “We are pleased to extend our long-term partnership with UnionPay. The new Europe Card is a good incentive for Chinese tourists to shop at our merchants. Additionally, merchants benefit from a free advertising platform that directs Chinese consumers towards their stores in person or in the future also via e-commerce. I am proud that SIX Payment Services can provide the payment infrastructure for this innovative offering. Our aim is to help our merchants to increase their turnover and to enhance the shopping experience of Chinese visitors.”