The Rebisco group’s lending arm, Asia United Bank (AUB), has teamed up with global payment network UnionPay to allow the latter’s cardholders from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Vietnam to make contactless quick response (QR) code payments locally.
QR code payment, which first became popular in mainland China, allows cardholders to pay merchants by scanning a QR code, enabling fund transfers from their account to the merchant without the need for a point-of-sale terminal.
As one of the fastest-growing global payment networks in the world today, UnionPay has over seven billion cards issued in 51 countries and regions. There are now 52 million merchants and 2.6 million automated teller machines that accept UnionPay cards in 171 countries and regions.
The partnership with AUB is seen to further strengthen the UnionPay QR code acceptance network globally, bringing the total number of UnionPay QR code merchants to over 10 million in over 25 countries and regions.
AUB sees UnionPay QR code for payments bringing a wide variety of benefits to customers.
“Customers have a choice on how to pay and this eases payments for both businesses and consumers,” AUB head of cards and acquiring business Mags Surtida said in a statement. “Partnering with UnionPay also has the potential to accelerate the country’s shift to cashless transactions, which is aligned with AUB’s goal of flexibility and innovation.”
Wenhui Yang, general manager for South East Asia, said: “This is a very exciting time for the payments industry in the Philippines. With new electronic forms of payment being introduced to consumers and businesses rapidly, this will pave the way for greater convenience and ease of payments to catalyst the adoption of cashless payments on the road ahead.”
“As our valued partner, AUB has a long history of enabling inclusive and innovative payments for consumers and businesses. This partnership with AUB will not only serve to accelerate the growth of mobile payments in the country, it will also facilitate greater flow of payments through the secure and easy-to-use UnionPay QR code for payments solution,” Yang added.
AUB has been leveraging on its enhanced information technology platform to improve banking experience for customers. Since opening at the height of financial crises in 1997, the bank has been making use of technology to differentiate its services and operations, said AUB president Manuel Gomez.
To be accredited with UnionPay, merchants must accomplish the necessary documents, open an account with AUB, have a smartphone, internet connection, and download the AUB PayMate app to process UnionPay QR code transactions from customers.