home>Publications media>Actualités de la société
UnionPay International Partners with GIMAC to Grow Financial Inclusion and Digital Transformation in the Region
2020-08-28


UnionPay International (UPI), the world’s largest payment network in terms of card issuance, has concluded a strategic partnership with GIMAC (Groupement Interbancaire Monétique de l’Afrique Centrale), through which the two parties will jointly optimize the payment service of UnionPay in the CEMAC zone, comprising of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

As the first step of the partnership, GIMAC has rolled out the ATM acceptance of UnionPay in Cameroon with National Financial Credit Bank (NFC), Union Bank of Cameroon (UBC) and the microfinance institution La Regional. In the next few weeks, three more financial institutions, including one bank and two microfinances will be enabled for UnionPay ATM acceptance in Cameroon. These institutions will have access to a global card network for the first time, both for acquiring and issuing. “The collaboration between UnionPay and GIMAC will effectively assist the region in growing financial inclusion and digital transformation by offering to the population access to an international card and world-class payment network at an affordable cost,” says Mr. Luping Zhang, General Manager for UPI Africa.

The initiative will be followed by the issuance of UnionPay-GIMAC co-branded cards in the territory within this year, as well as the rollout of various innovative payment solutions including contactless payment, online payment, QR code-based payment to accelerate digital transformation in the region.
Mr Valentin MBOZO’O, General Manager of GIMAC commented that they are excited about the opportunities that the UPI partnership holds as it will initially encourage and attract global UnionPay cardholders, to regions that previous was not able to service UnionPay cardholders, and they are looking forward to the deployment of further payment solutions which will serve to support local financial inclusion.

UnionPay International is a subsidiary of China UnionPay acting for the development and support of global businesses of the UnionPay. UnionPay International offers high quality of cross-border payment services, competitive and secured services to cardholders worldwide and ensures convenient and swift local services to an increasing number of merchants and customers of UnionPay cards.

Today, with over 8.4 billion cards issued in 61 countries and regions, UnionPay serves the world’s largest cardholder base. In Africa, UnionPay is present in 50 countries with cards issued locally in 12 countries. Moreover, UnionPay has launched various innovative payment products in Africa in response to the worldwide digital transformation and financial inclusion.

GIMAC is a regional switch of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) which includes 6 countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. GIMAC aims to provide to around 54 local banks a payment infrastructure to process cards transactions and to develop payment services.
Actualités de la société