UnionPay International (UPI), a cross-border payments company based in China, has signed an agreement with Latin American bank NIBank to bring payment solutions, including prepaid cards, to the region.
NIBank announced the news on Tuesday (March 12), and said it will develop the payment solutions under the UPI name. NIBank will license and develop the payment methods, and customers in the Caribbean and South America will be the main recipients.
Jordán Silva Tugues, chairman of the board of NIBank, said, “This alliance demonstrates the commitment we have to support our customers through different payment solutions, and allows us to meet the objective of offering better purchasing opportunities.”
UPI is hoping to broaden its customer base in the region, and NIBank plans to develop a number of payment systems, including in the areas of IC cards, mPOS, B2B payments and online and mobile payments. The cards will be called UnionPay cards, and will include services like travel insurance and medical assistance, including VIP physician services and a 24-hour concierge service.
UPI, which is a subsidiary of China UnionPay, has facilitated the issuance and acceptance of cards in about 170 countries and areas. The company functions with a membership plan for companies, and said its involvement can help speed up a country’s commercial development.
In January, UPI gave developers around the world access to 18 of its mobile internet payment products, via an open platform called the UPI Developer. Through the application programming interface (API), developers can add UnionPay’s technical services into their own offerings.
UnionPay International CEO Cai Jianbo said his company is developing payment services for the future of the industry, and that the UPI Developer is meant to meet partners’ demand for more innovation.
“With the development of innovative payment technology and commercial applications, UnionPay International is accelerating building up its innovative payment technology and service capacity, and promoting the digitalization of its card-based business, to support the development of mobile payment,” Jianbo said.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More