Today, UnionPay International (UPI) and Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd, or PayNet, Malaysia's national payments network jointly signed an agreement in Shanghai to promote the cross-border QR code linkage and enable the full acceptance of the UnionPay App (Chinese-mainland, Hong Kong and Macao versions) and Chinese-mainland bank apps connected to the UnionPay App Network Payment Platform at the QR merchants in Malaysia.
Building on that, the two sides will strive to enable the acceptance of other UnionPay-powered wallets at QR merchants in the country as well as the wallets Malaysian customers use at global UnionPay QR merchants. Up to now, UnionPay International has reached interoperability cooperation with local QR code networks in Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
As the designated operator of DuitNow QR, Malaysia's national QR code standard, PayNet works with all QR merchants in the country totaling over one million. Through this collaboration, these merchants can service UnionPay cardholders without any adaptation of the systems or the QR code. Customers can make QR payments with the UnionPay App (Chinese-mainland, Hong Kong and Macao versions) or Chinese-mainland bank apps connected to the UnionPay App Network Payment Platform. In the future, newly-enrolled QR merchants in Malaysia will support UnionPay-powered wallets by default.
Mr. Cai Jianbo, President of China UnionPay and Chairman of UnionPay International, says that in recent years, the central banks of many Southeast Asian countries have been building their own payment systems and promoting the two-by-two connection of QR code payment networks. This partnership marks the first implementation of UnionPay's cross-border QR payment interoperability model in the ASEAN region. Also, the cooperation with PayNet is of great significance for both sides: Chinese consumers visiting Malaysia will be able to use UnionPay QR payment products they are familiar with for a better spending experience. In the future, Malaysian residents may pay with PayNet wallet conveniently at UnionPay QR merchants worldwide.
UnionPay, relying on its advantages in standards, technology, services and other fields, has accelerated the implementation of QR Network Interoperability payment solution, which supports the mutual use of UnionPay products and overseas wallets in the overseas networks. Through this innovative business cooperation model, overseas payment networks can improve their service capabilities for international consumers with low cost and high efficiency.
As cross-border travel gradually resumes, UnionPay has been actively accelerating the expansion of high-quality mobile payment services to more local residents, providing richer choices for their local, inbound and cross-border consumption. Recently, the OCBC digital bank App accessed the UnionPay network, allowing Singapore residents to directly use their local mainstream bank's App to scan codes for payment in China. OCBC users can simply apply for a UnionPay virtual card within the app, which can be used on the global UnionPay QR code network. So far, more than 20 wallets in 8 countries in the ASEAN region have supported UnionPay QR codes.
Currently, UnionPay cards are accepted in 180 countries and regions outside the Chinese Mainland, covering more than 63.5 million online and in-store merchants, of which more than 16 million merchants also support UnionPay's QR code or QuickPass payment. At present, UPI has promoted more than 170 wallets in more than 30 countries and regions, becoming an important driving force for business localization. It is expected that by the end of this year, there will be 200 overseas wallets supporting UnionPay mobile payment services, and the number of potential users is expected to exceed 600 million.