July 2 - UnionPay International and InterSwitch jointly announce that all ATMs and POS terminals cooperated with InterSwitch will accept UnionPay cards from that day on. This is the first time that UnionPay International has cooperated with a local institution in Nigeria to expand the acceptance of UnionPay cards on a large scale, which is expected to provide more convenient card use service to UnionPay cardholders visiting Nigeria.

As a leading aggregate payment service company in Pan-Africa, InterSwitch is operating the leading inter-bank payment network in Nigeria, which involves 24 branches. It has extended its business to West Africa, East Africa and other regions outside Nigeria. Through this cooperation between UnionPay International and InterSwitch, the 11,000 ATMs and over 70,000 POS terminals connected to InterSwitch will accept UnionPay cards, bringing the total number of ATMs accepting UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal to over 90% of all ATMs in Nigeria. Local POS terminals accpetingUnionPay cards are mainly located in places frequently visited by tourists including shopping centers, souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels, etc.

CaiJianbo, CEO of UnionPay International says, with the deepening of exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa, more and more UnionPay cardholders come to Africa for travel or trade. To keep pace with such a trend, UnionPay card acceptance environment has been continuously improved in Africa. Currently, UnionPay cards can be accepted in over 40 countries and regions in Africa, providing cardholders and enterprises with convenient and safe service. Similarly, Nigeria has also attracted many Chinese enterprises and tourists. UnionPay International will discuss with InterSwitch to expand cooperation and business area based on InterSwitch’s market advantages, further improve the UnionPay card acceptance environment in Nigeria and Pan-African countries, and better meet the requirements of China and many African countries for expanding exchanges and communications on overseas payment.

Mitchell Elegbe, Managing Director and CEO of InterSwitch Group says, this cooperation with UnionPay International will further promote the growth of economic and trade exchanges and investments between the two countries. UnionPay cardholders will receive more convenient payment service in Nigeria, and local banks and merchants can provide their service to more and more UnionPay cardholders and increase incomes as well. InterSwitch network welcomes UnionPay cards, emphasizes its cooperation with this emerging international payment brand, and is willing to carry on more extentive cooperation in more regions and business areas.