Summit Bank: UnionPay Card Serves as A Bridge to Boost Friendly Exchanges between China and Pakistan

SHANGHAI ( PRESS RELEASE )

UnionPay International announced today that it has signed an issuance agreement with Pakistan Summit Bank. The two sides have agreed to jointly issue UnionPay cards on a large scale. Now, UnionPay has become the international bankcard brand with the second largest market share in terms of card issuance in Pakistan. CEO of UnionPay International, Cai Jianbo, Vice Chairman of Summit Bank, Husain Lawai, and CEO & President of Summit Bank, Muhammad Zahir Esmail attended the ceremony.

“With the implementation of the Belt and Road Strategy and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, UnionPay has made remarkable progress in Pakistan.” Cai Jianbo said. More than 90% of the local merchants and over 70% of the ATMs accept UnionPay cards. Meanwhile, 3400,000 UnionPay cards have been issued in the market, and the transaction volume of these cards grew by over 2 times last year.

Summit Bank is one of the fastest growing banks in Pakistan. Through this cooperation with UnionPay International, the bank will change more than half of its cards in circulation into UnionPay chip cards, and will also issue new cards. These cards can be used in UnionPay’s global network while supporting online payment. Recognizing UnionPay’s advantages in network, products and service, as well as the security of UnionPay chip cards, Summit Bank will promote UnionPay cards as its key products.

Muhammad Zahir Esmail said, Pakistan and China are as close as family; Summit Bank and UnionPay International are close partners. The UnionPay card has become an important bridge between China and Pakistan. Through this cooperation, Summit Bank will provide the best debit and prepaid cards service for customers in Pakistan, and is looking forward to the two sides’ further cooperation in more fields.

Now, among the 60 or so countries and regions along the “One Belt and One Road”, about 50 of them accept UnionPay cards. About 70% of ATMs and over 50% of merchants in Kazakhstan, and more than 300,000 merchants and over 40,000 ATMs in Russia, accept UnionPay cards. Last year, the transaction volume of the UnionPay cards issued in Pakistan and Nepal in mainland China grew by about 2 times and that of the UnionPay cards issued in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia and Mauritius grew by about 50%.