Elavon and China UnionPay Reach Processing Agreement

August 02, 2011 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Agreement enables direct processing on platforms in the U.S., Canada and Europe

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elavon, a leading global payments provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and China UnionPay, the bankcard association in China, have signed a binding agreement to enable acceptance for UnionPay’s debit and credit cards at Elavon’s merchants in the United States and Europe. The deal also extends credit card acceptance to Elavon’s Canadian merchants and will expand to include Latin America in the future.

“We are pleased to cooperate with Elavon”

The agreement extends Elavon’s end-to-end processing control, giving merchants direct connectivity to UnionPay. It leverages Elavon’s secure, world class international processing platform to provide merchants with the benefit of a single point of service for processing, funding, settlement and reporting for all Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover® Network and UnionPay transactions.

“We are pleased to cooperate with Elavon,” said Mr. Ruode Xu, president of UnionPay. “We believe that their vast merchant base and excellent quality of service will help drive global acceptance of China UnionPay.”

China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the largest market for credit cards by 2020 with total cards expected to increase 11 percent a year as transaction value climbs 14 percent annually, according to MasterCard. UnionPay currently issues 2.6 billion cards worldwide.

Elavon’s President and CEO, Mike Passilla, said, "Elavon is elated to support the expansion of China UnionPay card acceptance while promoting their international brand and supporting new opportunities to serve Chinese travelers – one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism market.”

About Elavon (www.elavon.com): Elavon's Global Acquiring Solutions organization is a part of U.S. Bancorp and provides end-to-end payment processing services to more than 1.2 million merchants in North America, Europe, Mexico and Brazil. Solutions include credit and debit card processing, electronic check, gift cards, dynamic currency conversion, multi-currency support and cross-border acquiring and are marketed through multiple alliance partner channels to meet the needs of merchants in markets including small business, retail, hospitality/T&E, health care, education and the public sector.

About U.S. Bancorp (www.usbank.com): U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $321 billion in assets as of June 30, 2011, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,086 banking offices in 25 states and 5,086 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp and its employees are dedicated to improving the communities they serve, for which the company earned the 2011 Spirit of America Award, the highest honor bestowed on a company by United Way.

About China UnionPay (www.unionpay.com): As the bankcard association in China, China UnionPay operates the national inter-bank clearing and settlement system, develops the worldwide UnionPay Card acceptance network, promotes the issuance and usage of the UnionPay Card as well as other innovative payment solutions, so as to provide quality, efficient and safe payment services to cardholders. To date, the total number of the UnionPay Card issued both at home and abroad has been 2.6 billion. The UnionPay network has been extended to all the cities and rural areas in China. In addition, China UnionPay has enabled the UnionPay Card acceptance over 110 countries and regions through extensive cooperation with about 400 financial institutions around the world.

Contacts

Elavon Media Relations
Holly Lytle, 404-606-0129
holly.lytle@elavon.com
or
U.S. Bank Media Relations
Teri Charest, 612-303-0732
teri.charest@usbank.com