The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding agreed by the two companies in 2017 and enables Millennium bcp to become the first European bank to issue UnionPay cards. In addition, Millennium bcp becomes an acquirer for all the UnionPay Cards, irrespective of the country of issuance.
Currently, Portugal’s entire ATM network accepts UnionPay cards, as well as more than 50% of merchants, a figure that is set to grow to 80% by the end of 2018, according to the press release.
The initial focus for UnionPay International and Millennium bcp will be on those customers who travel between Portugal and China, with bilateral trade between the two countries having increased by 8% to USD 5billion in the first 10 months of 2018.
In Europe, UnionPay is now accepted by more than 3.3 million merchants in 40 countries and regions, covering more than 60% of all the bankcard-accepting merchants in Europe. Meanwhile, its global network has extended to 171 countries and regions, which covers 52 million merchants and over 2.6 million ATMs worldwide.
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