First UnionPay card issued in Belarus
UnionPay card to become available in Belarus. Source: shutterstock.com
UnionPay International announced the issuance of the first UnionPay card in Belarus in collaboration with Belgazprombank. According to the plan, the two parties will jointly issue 20,000 UnionPay cards in 2019. These include payroll cards targeted at local residents.
China has been Belarus’ largest trading partner and the second largest source of imports for many consecutive years. A mutual visa-free policy was implemented by the two countries in 2018, which, as predicted by local tourism authorities, will drive the Chinese tourists visiting Belarus to grow by over 15% annually. In recent years, UnionPay International has accelerated the expansion of its business in Belarus: Belgazprombank have enabled all its ATMs and merchants to accept UnionPay cards, and major institutions such as Belarusbank and BPS-Sberbank have established a comprehensive partnership with UnionPay International. It is expected that UnionPay’s acceptance coverage rate in Belarus will exceed 60% this year, with UnionPay mobile QuickPass available at more than 20,000 POS terminals.
The number of countries and regions that have issued UnionPay cards has increased to 52.
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