SIX, Bank of China, UnionPay launch card for Chinese travelers

By Tanaya Macheel November 21, 2016, 4:53 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

The payment market for Chinese travelers is heating up, and SIX Payment Services, Bank of China and UnionPay have unveiled a credit card for Chinese travelers shopping at European retailers.

Chinese consumers, who have been an attractive market for high-end European merchants, will receive 5% cash back on “Europe Card” purchases at select merchant partners, including Swiss jewelers Bucherer and Beyer. Payment companies are aggressively pursuing the share of Chinese travelers, with Alipay entering into a series of collaborations to expand internationally.

The China UnionPay Data Co. logo is displayed on an automated teller machine (ATM) in Beijing, China, on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010. The U.S. filed two complaints against China at the World Trade Organization, concerned that curbs on payment-processing companies put payment-processing companies such as MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. at a disadvantage because China favors a monopoly provider, China UnionPay Data Co. The second complaint is over dumping duties on more than $200 million of U.S.-made steel products. Photographer: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg

“The new Europe Card is a good incentive for Chinese tourists to shop at our merchants,” Jürg Weber, division chief executive at SIX, said in a Nov. 21 news release. “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.”

By adding UnionPay to its e-commerce portfolio SIX merchants will be able to target Chinese consumers online as well as in-store.

The Europe Card is an extension of Bank of China’s “Travel Mate Credit Card” program, which has 2 million cards based on the UnionPay scheme, including Korea Card, Japan Card and USA Card.

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