UnionPay Inks 11 Cross-Border Payment Deals To Expand Global Connectivity

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- UnionPay recently signed 11 cross-border payment cooperation agreements with major institutions during the UnionPay Global Partners Conference 2025 - Innovations in Open Payments: Sharing Success in Payment Connectivity in Shanghai, China.

The agreements include Bank of China; PayNet and Hong Leong Bank (Malaysia); Uzcard and HUMO (Uzbekistan); IPC (Kyrgyzstan); OCBC Bank (Singapore); Banco do Brasil (Brazil); FonePay (Nepal); and Bluecode (Austria).

In his remarks, UnionPay International and China UnionPay Chairman, Dong Junfeng said tens of millions of micro, small, and medium-sized merchants worldwide now have access to UnionPay’s inclusive and extensive global network.

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“Building a connected global network is a long-term, collective endeavour. UnionPay pursues mutually beneficial partnerships that leverage strengths of both issuing and acquiring sides for industry shared growth and fair profits distribution,” said Dong in a statement.

UnionPay has developed an open and inclusive New Four-Party Model, incorporating extended stakeholders such as wallet operators, mobile device manufacturers, and acquiring service providers, to adapt to the evolving payments industry.

While cross-border connectivity benefits millions of merchants, longer transaction chains and complex data introduce new risks, including money laundering and fraud. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become central to addressing these challenges.

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Dong explained that large AI models can verify merchant authenticity with a single photo and outperform human judgement in monitoring high-risk transactions.

AI is also transforming the broader payment value chain, making transactions faster, smarter, and more efficient. UnionPay is fostering an AI ecosystem through joint innovation with research institutes, industry partners, and leading universities to drive industry-wide AI-enabled growth.

Guided by the vision of “Trusted Ties, Shared Success”, UnionPay will continue collaborating with global partners under the New Four-Party Model to build an efficient, secure, and connected global payment network, supporting the global payments industry and ensuring safe and reliable services for users worldwide.

-- BERNAMA