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Russian Railways start accepting UnionPay cards
2019-05-29


UnionPay International announced today that through its collaboration with VTB Bank, it has enabled Russian Railways to accept UnionPay cards issued outside Russia. With this progress, it is much easier for tourists to plan their trips. As the most important intercity transportation in Russia, Russian Railways will accept UnionPay cards issued by local banks in the near future. Previously, UnionPay cards are already accepted in the transit sectors in Russia, including the metro in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Moscow Aeroexpress.

Nowadays, free-and-independent travel has surpassed group tour to be the primary choice of Chinese outbound tourists. To meet the payment demands of FIT tourists, UnionPay International is accelerating its acceptance in the sector of transit. At present, there are over 70 international airlines accepting UnionPay cards to book tickets online. In 20 countries and regions, tourists can rent cars via UnionPay cards. UnionPay is accepted in the transit sector in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Europe, the U.S, Australia, and Southeast Asia too. In the sector of railways, Eurail, Amtrak, and Rovos Rail have all supported UnionPay cards.

As one of the top three railway networks in the world, Russian Railways has an annual passenger volume of 1 billion, connecting major cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazan. It also has cross-border lines to and from China. Tourists are now allowed to book or purchase train tickets for all lines of Russian Railways online through its official website and at its ticketing sales outlets with UnionPay cards issued outside Russia. Tourists can thus plan cross-border rail tours from China, or take a train to visit different places in Russia. The experience of FIT tourists visiting Russia is greatly enhanced. 

At present, about 1.3 million merchants and 100, 000 ATMs in Russia accept UnionPay cards. The overall acceptance rate of UnionPay cards in Russia has reached 90%. More than 1 million POS terminals support UnionPay mobile QuickPass. In addition, UnionPay’s acceptance coverage in popular tourist destinations, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Irkutsk, has reached 100%. With the increasingly smooth card-using experiences in Russia, more and more Russian residents are attracted to use UnionPay cards. Eleven local institutions including Russian Agricultural Bank have issued more than 2.3 million UnionPay cards.


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