Barclaycard ties up with UnionPay to target Chinese visitors to the UK

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Recently, payments processing company Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of the UK's credit and debit card transactions, has tied up with UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay, to lure more Chinese visitors to the UK.

According to the deal, 110,000 Barclaycard UK merchants would be able to accept UnionPay, the world's largest cardholder base, through a phased rollout that would begin this summer.

This new cooperation has offered a great opportunity for British retailers to simplify the UK shopping experience for international visitors.

Meanwhile, noted as a preferred payment brand for Chinese to visit the UK, UnionPay also allows their cardholders to pay with the cards and mobile payment products, both in-store and online, across Barclaycard's UK merchant network including retailers, transport providers and hotels.

The UnionPay logo. /VCG Photo

The UK is expecting for more Chinese to visit the country in 2019, with Visit Britain, an official tourism website of the UK, pointing out that bookings from the website are up 31 percent from January to June this year compared with the same period in 2018.

In addition, Barclaycard Company also indicated that Chinese travelers are some of the highest spenders in the UK, spending an average of 2,059 pounds (18,073 RMB) each, per visit.

Today, the UK remains a strategically significant growing market for UnionPay. The new cooperation shows yet another step forward in the rapidly expanding global footprint for both China and the UK.