In a significant development that will extend where both Japanese and Chinese credit cardholders may use their cards abroad, Japan-based card organization JCB has signed a memorandum of understanding with China UnionPay to expand the scope of their merchant-acceptance relationship.
The agreement, signed on June 21, will extend their current agreement to accept each other’s cards at participating merchants to a global platform, a spokesperson for JCB told PaymentsSource in an interview. As such, JCB customers, for example, could possibly use their cards at merchant and ATM locations in a third country where China UnionPay cards already are accepted, and vice versa.
The current partnership between the two card companies began in 2003, when a merchant-acquiring agreement enabled JCB-branded cards to be used in China. In 2006, JCB reciprocated by facilitating the acceptance of China UnionPay cards in Japan.
“JCB and China UnionPay will emphasize on further strategic alliances beyond the boundaries of their current relationship in various fields and regions,” the spokesperson said, noting specific details will be disclosed later.
Today, China UnionPay cards are accepted at more than 60,000 JCB ATMs and merchants in Japan, the spokesperson said.
JCB also has been working with major Chinese banks, including China Construction Bank and China Merchant Bank, to issue cobranded credit cards. JCB issues about 4 million co-branded cards in China, according to the JCB spokesperson.
China UnionPay declined to comment. The Chinese card company has been expanding globally as well. It has issued over 2.5 billion credit and debit cards, with an acceptance network reaching more than 110 countries and regions.
