News

Aussie bank ANZ enables ATMs for UnionPay chip cards

May 13, 2016

Australian bank ANZ has claimed a first with its acceptance of China UnionPay EMV cards at its ATM and POS terminals across nine countries in the Pacific.

A report by Solomon Star News said that accountholders with chip-enabled UnionPay debit and credit cards can now use their cards in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu and Timor Leste. Service in Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati and Cook Islands will follow in the coming weeks.

"Every year, the number of Chinese tourists, students and business people travelling to the Pacific grows," said ANZ Fiji Acting CEO Saud Minam at a news conference. "In Fiji alone, tourist and visitor arrivals from China increased 36 percent last year, and today we're happy to expand our value proposition to support this growing connectivity across our regions and in particular to support Asia tourism flows across the Pacific."

UnionPay is the No. 1 payment tool among Chinese travelers, who can use their cards in 157 countries and regions, the report said.

"Our cooperation with ANZ not only substantially improved UnionPay's acceptance footprint and card-using experiences in South Pacific, but will also lay a solid foundation for card-issuance there in the future," said Cai Jianbo, CEO of the China UnionPay subsidiary UnionPay International.