Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has announced its partnership with China-based UnionPay International (UPI) under which the latter’s contactless cards will be accepted on all QIB POS terminals and ATMs in Qatar, further improving the cardholder experience.
With Qatar set to host several major tournaments and events in the upcoming year, an influx of visitors to Qatar is expected including those from China and other Asian countries.
Since UnionPay has been a “preferred” card for many visitors in the previous year, this “partnership emphasises QIB’s commitment to moving to a cashless society” and help make it “convenient” for UnionPay cardholders to pay for services on all QIB POS terminals.
Tarek Fawzi, QIB’s Wholesale Banking Group general manager said, “We are pleased to be working with UnionPay to give access to more mobile payment technologies in Qatar. This partnership will play an important role to further promote digital payments in Qatar by offering advanced, secure, and efficient payment processing services for all UnionPay cardholders and ensuring smooth cross-border payments.”
James Yang, UnionPay International Middle East general manager, said: “We are proud to be joining forces with the leading digital bank in Qatar to provide several payment opportunities to our cardholders, particularly visitors to Qatar. Through this joint venture, we are close to achieving full coverage in Qatar for UnionPay cardholders in line with our strategy to address the growing demand for contactless payments around the world.”
UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay, and currently its acceptance network has expanded to 67mn merchants in 181 countries and regions around the world.