China Unionpay Hopes For Expansion In Taiwan, Report Says

China UnionPay reportedly has started discussions about expanding its payment network into Taiwan. Expansion could start as early as July with stores and hotels accepting UnionPay-branded cards, according to the China Knowledge newspaper. The expansion also would enable UnionPay cardholders to withdraw money from ATMs in Taiwan. UnionPay would not comment. "I am unable to confirm the deal, as we don't have an official stand on this issue yet," a UnionPay spokesperson tells CardLine Global. Taiwan represents a huge market for UnionPay, Hua Zhang, a banking analyst with the China office of United States-based Celent LLC, tells CardLine Global. "Taiwan is the sixth-largest trade partner of Mainland China, and around 1.1 million visitors from the country will visit Taiwan this year," Zhang says.