China UnionPay taps PPRO for cards in Europe

Local payments platform PPRO has become a direct acquirer for UnionPay International, the world’s largest card scheme in terms of card issuance. The firm operates a U.K. money operating license.

The relationship will provide PPRO’s payment service providers (PSPs) and their merchants in Europe the ability to accept e-commerce payment from the hundreds of millions of shoppers who use UnionPay as their payment method. The move gives PPRO access to Asia-Pacific’s cross-border trade, including the $1 trillion Chinese B2C e-commerce market.

With the addition of UnionPay, PPRO’s offering is now a comprehensive offering for PSPs and other merchant acquirers in the market; it covers acquiring, processing and funds collection all under one contract, one integration and one settlement. PPRO supports processing and settlement for UnionPay in 11 currencies. Customers benefit from faster on-boarding, transaction settlements and funds collection, refunds and improved conversion rates. PPRO will now be able to take full end-to-end management of UnionPay to market, offering better support and higher security.

Jack Ehlers, director of product, payment networks, and business development at PPRO, said, “The Chinese e-commerce market is growing at a rate of 19% a year on average, representing a huge opportunity for international merchants. With an average spend of $1,934 a year per consumer, merchants can’t afford to ignore the Chinese e-commerce market any longer.”

Wei Zhihong, market director from UnionPay International and head of UnionPay International Europe, said, “Through the partnership with PPRO, our customers can now shop securely and confidently with international merchants, and with a payment method they are accustomed to. We believe this will also bring more opportunities to merchants.”