First Data Moves Into China With Huifu Integration

First Data, the commerce-enabling technology company, announced on Thursday (Sept. 20) that it has inked a deal with Huifu Payment, a third-party payment provider in China, to offer a market-leading global eCommerce solution in that country.

In a press release, First Data said the collaboration with Huifu, a PBOC-licensed third-party payment provider with a strong presence in both the China POS and online acquiring markets, will result in Huifu’s technology platform being integrated into First Data’s payment gateway.  First Data said the combined technology provides an integrated processing solution, with the ability for international merchants to enable multicurrency transactions from a single platform on a real-time basis across markets.

“We are delighted to partner with First Data,” said Mr. Ye Zhou, chairman of the board, executive director and chief executive officer of Huifu, in the press release. “Huifu provides First Data with the ability to route transactions and settle domestically in China, offering a seamless eCommerce solution to the global merchant base of the largest acquirer in the world. With Huifu’s local expertise and First Data’s global presence, we offer a unique solution to merchants around the world to tap into the immense eCommerce market in China.”

According to the companies, the offering will be attractive to international merchants that use First Data’s global eCommerce platform and have an interest in attracting Chinese consumers. The solution integrates Chinese language and local payment methods, such as UnionPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay, into the merchants’ websites.

“Making consumers’ shopping experiences as seamless as possible and offering familiar, local payment methods is key to reducing shopping cart abandonment and driving successful cross-border commerce,” said Ivo Distelbrink, executive vice president and head of Asia-Pacific at First Data, in the same press release. “We are excited about the opportunity that this partnership with Huifu brings to our global merchant base, who will now be able to benefit from domestic processing and settlement in RMB. As we continue to expand across the Asia-Pacific region, we will extend coverage to new markets and collaborate with carefully selected partners to deliver the solutions that meet our clients’ ever-changing needs of the local consumer.”