Chinese mobile payment UnionPay launches in Canada

Global Business

chinese-mobile-payment-unionpay-launches-in-canada

It’s been less than a decade since China made Canada “an approved destination.” There are now dozens of non-stop flights from China and to China every week. And, Chinese tourists can now spend their Renminbi in Canada more easily than ever.

CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg reports from Montreal.

The Duty Free shops at Montreal’s international airport offer free samples of one of Canada’s most popular products-Ice Wine. And, they intentionally target Chinese tourists by providing a sales clerk who’s fluent in Mandarin.

The shop also makes the process of paying simply now, accepting China’s largest payment card, UnionPay.

According to UnionPay International, more than 20 percent of Canadian merchants now accept its card.

Considered the world’s third largest, behind Visa and Mastercard, UnionPay’s share of the global market has been rapidly expanding thanks, in part, to its lower fees.

Last week, American retailer Walmart announced it would expand its plan to phase out Visa cards in its Canadian stores because of “unacceptably high” transaction fees.

“It’s our belief that the credit card duopoly here, and they are essentially a duopoly of Mastercard and Visa, at this stage are setting prices far higher than should be the case in a competitive market. And have pressed hard on the federal government to bring these fees more into line with our peers elsewhere around the world,” Karl Littler from Retail Council of Canada said.

UnionPay is now making a big push into North America. Recently, commercial Chinese banks in Canada began issuing the card.

UnionPay International said it ultimately wants to see Canadian banks issue the UnionPay card. The brand, they say, is Chinese. But the card is truly global.