Merchants and ATMs across Hungary soon will accept China UnionPay cards under an agreement the card organization and Budapest-based OTP Bank Ltd. announced Oct. 25.
OTP’s 200 ATMs and 15,000 merchants in Hungary will accept China UnionPay cards starting later this month. This marks the first time an Eastern European nation is opening access to China UnionPay cardholders, according to the card company.
China UnionPay cardholders will be able to use their cards at airports, supermarkets, department stores, restaurants, tourist attractions and other locations in Hungary where Chinese travelers frequent, according to a press release.
Merchants in 117 countries now accept China UnionPay cards, and the Hungarian deal will help boost that country’s tourism and local businesses, Weidong Wang, an analyst with Beijing-based iResearch Consulting Group, tells PaymentsSource.
“Almost all domestic banks in China issue China UnionPay-branded cards, which means there is a huge base from which even a small percentage traveling to Hungary would mean a lot to Hungarian tourism and businesses,” says Wang.
