The Chinese smartphone transaction system is launching in the western continent with a start in Canada.
China’s UnionPay mobile payments system is now in North America. It took its first steps into the continent by launching in Canada. This mobile transaction service is the international subsidiary of the Chinese interbank network. The network functions to link the credit and debit card payments throughout that country’s banks.
UnionPay International is enormous, placing third in the world as a payment network.
Only Visa and MasterCard are larger payment networks than UnionPay. This is primarily because of its reach throughout China and its recent rapid expansion outside the country. Now that UnionPay mobile payments launched in Canada, its QuickPass system will be available to many Canadian merchants. It will be focused on “daily spending” merchants in that country. This represents the first time the system has entered North America, despite its wide expansion elsewhere.
UnionPay mobile payments can be used with QuickPass enabled smartphones or EMV chip cards.
There is a QuickPass spending cap at $100 (CAD) for transactions without a PIN or signature when using either credit or debit. This is meant to enhance the system’s mobile security. Moreover, it will make it fast and easy for Canadian consumers to use the system without having to enter a PIN.
As of yet, it is not known precisely how many Canadian merchants are interested in these mobile payments. The number of companies participating in QuickPass was not revealed at the launch. However, UnionPay has said that there will at least be more than 70,000 merchants with the required tech. It also pointed out that the infrastructure in the country is well suited to accept contactless payments.
Therefore, there is potential that a sizeable percentage of those with the ability to accept contactless payments will participate.
At the moment, the North American launch of UnionPay mobile payments is exclusive to Canada. However, there is a very large potential audience in the rest of the continent. This may mean that the company is setting up to subtly become a direct competitor with certain leading mobile wallets such as Apple Pay.
This initiative is a joint effort between UnionPay and its partners including more than 20 commercial banks.
UnionPay has now announced that it has launched QuickPass, a new mobile payments system, in Beijing, in a joint venture between it and more than twenty commercial banks.
The hope is that it will help to bring credibility, safety and convenience to the smartphone payments market.
The QuickPass mobile payments solution has now been rolled out and is available throughout the city wherever UnionPay cards are accepted. The system is also supposed to come with the same level of financial security and convenience that the firm’s technology has been known to provide. Using this mobile phone based payment transaction service is possible through a range of different technologies. These include Token, TSM, HCE and NFC technology. This latest version of the QuickPass system underscores convenience and security on every level. This is important as these are among the primary barriers to adoption that have been identified by consumers.
This mobile payments service is supported by any smartphone that has Android 4.4.2 or higher and NFC technology.
To use it, consumers are asked to download the QuickPass mobile app and to create an alternative to the traditional UnionPay bankcard, called the QuickPass card. Once this has been established, the smartphone can be used to make purchases at any POS terminal that features the QuickPass logo or when making purchases on the internet by way of the UnionPay Online Payment (UPOP). This system does not require any SMS verification.
QuickPass has been designed to stand out in an industry that is becoming increasingly swamped with different smartphone payment options – particularly when taking into consideration the adoption rate among consumers, which remains somewhat limited. In this case, the hope is to show that there are enough levels of security in place for consumers to feel comfortable enough to give it a try. Many people are resistant to using mobile wallets due to concerns over privacy and the safety of their financial data.
This mobile payments service is also supposed to be very convenient as it uses rapid contactless payment technology that doesn’t require internet access or opening an app. The device must simply be on and the display must be held close to the reader. From there, the payment is completed
There is a QuickPass spending cap at $100 (CAD) for transactions without a PIN or signature when using either credit or debit. This is meant to enhance the system’s mobile security. Moreover, it will make it fast and easy for Canadian consumers to use the system without having to enter a PIN.