Chinese cardholders get access to all Nordea markets

Mr. Lars Boström, Head of Cards Nordea, Mr. Lan Lijun, Chinese Ambassador to Sweden Mr. Xu Luode, President and CEO China UnionPay

Today, Nordea signed an agreement with China UnionPay, the largest bank card company in China. The agreement makes it possible for all UnionPay cardholders to use their cards in eight Nordea markets in the European region.

The signing ceremony was attended by China UnionPay’s Board of Directors and the Chinese ambassador of Sweden.

The agreement covers all corporate customers of Nordea who have agreed with Nordea to accept card payments from their customers in eight countries: the Nordics, the Baltics and Poland. The estimate is that Chinese customers will be able to use their cards at Nordea merchants from next year. The service will be rolled out country by country, starting late this year.

- UnionPay has seen the importance of having an agreement with Nordea to broaden the acceptance for UnionPay cards. With eight countries this is the broadest agreement in Northern Europe, says Lars Boström, Head of Cards.

The number of Chinese visitors to the Nordic countries is expected to reach about 600,000 this year. The number of Chinese tourists travelling to Europe is growing rapidly and the growth in the volume of transactions is tremendous.

Facts about China UnionPay:
• A shareholding financial service institution owned by over 80 domestic financial institutions.
• Established in March 2002 and headquartered in Shanghai.
• Strong Support from the Central Bank of China and the Chinese Government.
• UnionPay cards were accepted in 117 countries by the end of 2011.
• More than 3 billion UnionPay cards issued