UnionPay Takes Mobile Pay To Hong Kong

China’s UnionPay said on Tuesday (June 16) that it has bought three percent of Joint Electronic Teller Services (JETCO), which operates the largest ATM network in Hong Kong and Macao. Financial terms were not disclosed. The equity stake marks UnionPay’s first overseas investment, and the two companies have pledged to expand mobile payment services in Hong Kong, Caixin Online reported Wednesday.

UnionPay also said that the deal means the company becomes a strategic investor in JETCO and, in turn, has the ability to name candidates to the latter’s board of directors. JETCO owns more than 2,000 ATMs across Hong Kong and Macao. All of those machines accept UnionPay cards.

In reference to the partnership, the firms said that by the end of 2015 they would debut a service tied to UnionPay’s QuickPass platform, which lets consumers complete retail payments using smart devices. Under that service, UnionPay users must link their UnionPay cards to a smartphone SIM card that dovetails with JETCO’s own security standards. That, in turn, will allow for contactless payments across China’s mainland, Taiwan, Macao, South Korea and Australia. Other apps will be developed to take advantage of the partnership, the companies said.

Caixin Online said Tuesday that UnionPay installation data show it has configured more than 3,200 devices that use its QuickPass technology in physical locations as diverse as malls and parking lots across Hong Kong and Macao. On the mainland, that number increases exponentially to more than 5 million locations.

Shi Wenzhao, UnionPay’s president, said the company’s relationship with JETCO began last year. That relationship, the executive said, marks the beginning of UnionPay’s global strategy. “UnionPay will continue to step up investment in Hong Kong and other markets where UnionPay services have relatively matured … to promote the development of the payment industry,” he said in a statement.