Bank Alfalah to soon accept UnionPay cards

Agreement to help business linkages with China.

KARACHI: Bank Alfalah, which is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Group, has recently signed an agreement with UnionPay International to accept UnionPay cards in Pakistan.

UnionPay International is a subsidiary that focuses on the international business of UnionPay. UnionPay is a Chinese bank card association. “At present, the Shanghai-headquartered UnionPay has about 400 domestic and overseas associate members,” says the group’s website. The UnionPay network, since its inception in 2002, has been extended to all cities and rural areas in China, as well as 135 other countries and regions. The group provides similar services as other bank card associations like MasterCard and Visa.

A press release issued here says the partnership between Bank Alfalaha and UnionPay is a major milestone for both companies and also marks a breakthrough in forging business links between financial institutions in China and Pakistan. Bank Alfalah is aiming to implement the acceptance of UnionPay Cards on point-of-sale (POS) terminals in Pakistan in early 2013, followed by acceptance of UnionPay Cards on automated teller machines thereafter.

Bank Alfalah’s President and CEO Atif Bajwa said on the occasion that: “We are immensely pleased to be entering into an alliance with UnionPay International to facilitate the acceptance of their cards in Pakistan. We are optimistic that our widespread presence and footprint, with over 21,600 POS terminals countrywide, will go a long way in assisting UnionPay card holders to conduct their transactions with enhanced efficiency, convenience and ease. Going forward, we will continue to explore meaningful avenues for collaboration with UnionPay International. in order to provide customers in Pakistan with even better, more sophisticated financial solutions.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2013.

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