WorldPay to Become the Biggest China UnionPay Online Acquirer Outside of China

WorldPay becomes the first acquirer in the US and Europe to enable merchants to sell directly to the booming Chinese market online

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WorldPay, the global leader in payment processing, and China UnionPay, the fastest growing card scheme in the world, have today announced a partnership which will see WorldPay become the biggest acquirer outside of China for eCommerce UnionPay transactions. The agreement will see WorldPay become the first UnionPay Online Payment acquirer in the US and the vast majority of Europe¹, to enable merchants to sell directly to consumers in China, as well as UnionPay cardholders outside of China.

The announcement allows merchants to tap into enormous Chinese spending power, which has grown exponentially in the last few years. The middle class population has risen from 35 million households in 2006 and is expected to top 100 million by 2016, whilst the number of dollar millionaires rose 10% in a year to 960,000. As well as this huge increase in spending power, the Chinese have become more transient. In 2001 only 12 million Chinese travellers took a foreign trip², the Chinese Government estimated this number reached 64 million in 2011 and will grow 11% year-on-year.

China UnionPay has grown at an extraordinary rate and now rivals some of the world’s largest card schemes. According to an investigation by A.C. Nelson, an international authoritative investigation institution, up to 100% of Chinese domestics are familiar with the China UnionPay brand, significantly higher than any other bankcard brand in China.³

The potential eCommerce market for merchants selling to China is huge. The Chinese have a high demand for international products, so WorldPay’s move to become the first eCommerce acquirer in the US and the vast majority of Europe to enable merchants to sell directly to China marks a significant game changer for international eCommerce.

Ron Kalifa, CEO, WorldPay: “China is rapidly overtaking many nations to become one of the biggest spending powers in the world. The announcement today between WorldPay and China UnionPay is incredibly significant for merchants that want to sell to China online. eCommerce has removed geographical boundaries, opening up the opportunities for merchants to sell to consumers regardless of country or origin. WorldPay is now able to make this a reality for merchants that want to sell to China, opening up a lucrative market.”

UnionPay President, Xu Luode, stated that UnionPay is stepping up efforts to better meet the demand of cross-border transactions through cooperation with partners to further improve the acceptance network and services overseas. At present, UnionPay cards are accepted in 125 countries and areas around the world. Cardholders can also make cross-border purchases via the Internet with about 8 million online merchants in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and a large number of countries in Europe. The cooperation with WorldPay is a significant step forward to expand UnionPay acceptance overseas. In a period of time when major UK based sporting events are just around the corner, UnionPay is able to continue optimizing the acceptance environment in the UK and better serve the visiting UnionPay cardholders.

Selfridges was the first retailer in UK to introduce China UnionPay terminals, provided by Streamline, and following a successful implementation has continued to roll-out more terminals across its stores.

Meave Wall, Store Director, Selfridges comments: “The number of Chinese visitors to the UK has grown exponentially in the last couple of years. China UnionPay is one of the most widely recognised card schemes in the world, and since the introduction of China UnionPay terminals in our stores we have seen a significant increase in the footfall of Chinese visitors and the amount of money they spend, particularly on our luxury brand ranges.”

About WorldPay

WorldPay is a leading global provider of payment and risk services, processing millions of transactions every day. WorldPay is a unification of seven leading retail payment solutions and offers a range of services including acquiring, gateway, alternative payments, risk management, and mobile payments. WorldPay became an independent company in December 2010. www.worldpay.com

About Streamline

Streamline is the UK’s leading card payment acquiring business which allows customers to accept card payments at point of sale, over the phone and the internet. The company offers services across the entire payment value chain, including transaction capturing, merchant acquiring and transaction processing.

Clients vary in size from small family run companies to large multi-national corporations, spanning a broad spectrum of industries and sectors. Streamline is part of the WorldPay group of companies; one of the top five global players in card processing. streamline.com

About China UnionPay

As the bankcard association, 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, to provide quality, efficient and safe payment services to cardholders. To date, the total number of the UnionPay Card issued both at home and aboard has exceeded 2.8 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 125 countries and regions through extensive cooperation with about 400 institutions around the world. Additional information may be found at: www.unionpay.com.

VeriFone, Ingenico, ViVOtech and Equinox Announce Integration of Isis™ Mobile Commerce Application

March 05, 2012 08:00 AM Eastern Time 

Leading Payment System Suppliers License Isis Mobile Commerce Application; Consumers to Pay, Present Loyalty Cards and Redeem Offers All with a Tap of Their Phone

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Isis™, the joint venture created by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, announced today that VeriFone, Ingenico, ViVOtech and Equinox Payments will integrate and support the Isis Mobile Commerce Application in current and future product lines. The agreements with leading payment systems providers will help accelerate the wide scale introduction and adoption of mobile commerce.

“Bringing the industry together behind a common set of technology standards and platforms is a crucial step toward igniting the mobile economy and we look forward to bringing ViVOtech’s 10 year history of leadership in contactless NFC applications to bear on behalf of the Isis customer base.”

“Payment systems suppliers provide critical infrastructure for the development of mobile commerce,” said Scott Mulloy, chief technology officer, Isis. “Today’s announcement is an important step in enabling NFC technology adoption throughout the mobile commerce industry. It also validates the open platform approach being offered by Isis across multiple business sectors.”

"VeriFone retail customers are already embracing the convergence of online shopping and the physical point of sale with new mobile payment options, digital couponing, loyalty, location-based social media and value-added services," said Jennifer Miles, VeriFone executive vice president, North America. "NFC-enabled payments allow merchants to engage their shoppers in new and powerful conversations, and Isis' open platform and scale are helping make mobile commerce a reality."

Payment device suppliers will enable Isis mobile commerce across several of their product lines, offering merchants flexibility in how they upgrade to Isis-enabled payment terminals. Merchants will become Isis-enabled through a combination of new payment acceptance systems and NFC add-on devices, as well as remote software upgrades of certain devices already in the field.

“As a global payment terminal manufacturer, we welcome Isis’ open approach of mobile commerce to engage with as many stakeholders of the payments ecosystem as possible. It is the most effective way to bring consumers and merchants the best in engineering innovation, convenience and security of payments,” said Thierry Denis, president of Ingenico, North America. “For 30 years, merchants relied on our terminals as enablers of traditional and innovative payment methods. Today, together with Isis, we are ready to support the acceptance of NFC-enabled payments which are fully integrated in our new generation Telium series devices and, in turn, be the agents of mobile commerce.”

“We’re approaching a tipping point in the mass adoption of mobile commerce, as new smartphones arrive NFC-enabled,” said Mick Mullagh, chief executive officer, ViVOtech. “Bringing the industry together behind a common set of technology standards and platforms is a crucial step toward igniting the mobile economy and we look forward to bringing ViVOtech’s 10 year history of leadership in contactless NFC applications to bear on behalf of the Isis customer base.”

“The importance of mobile payments cannot be overstated and Equinox is pleased to join Isis at the forefront of the development of these very important technologies,” said Clint Jones, Equinox Payments president. “The Isis Mobile Commerce Application is an excellent complement to our next-generation NFC-enabled L5000 series of payment terminals. Collaborations such as this provide Equinox with even more opportunities to provide our customers with new ways to leverage the tremendous benefits that mobile commerce has to offer.”

About Isis

The joint venture is between AT&T Mobility LLC, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless and is based in New York City. The venture is chartered with building Isis™, a national mobile commerce venture that will fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save. The Isis™ mobile commerce network will be available to all merchants, banks, payment networks and mobile carriers. ISIS is a trademark of JVL Ventures, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos, product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

www.paywithisis.com

VeriFone to Enable Isis NFC Mobile Commerce Access for Millions of Retail Checkout Lanes Nationwide

March 05, 2012 08:05 AM Eastern Time

Integration and Licensing Agreement between VeriFone and Isis Paves the Way for Broad Retailer Adoption

CARTES in North America 2012

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CARTES in North America Expo, Booth #414-- VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY), today announced an agreement with Isis, the joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, to integrate the Isis Mobile Commerce Application in current and future NFC-enabled product lines. The companies have also agreed that their sales, marketing and implementation teams will collaborate to target large retail and petroleum/convenience merchants in previously announced Isis launch markets of Salt Lake City and Austin.

“VeriFone customers will be able to leverage the integration of the mobile experience to engage consumers with new payment options, couponing, and loyalty services.”

VeriFone’s leading market share of U.S. retailers, NFC-ready product portfolio and “payment-as-a-service” delivery model will help accelerate the wide scale introduction and the adoption of mobile commerce. VeriFone is the preferred payment solutions provider for retailers, with 70 percent of the top 200 retail companies in the U.S. and with more than one million NFC-capable VeriFone MX Solutions systems already deployed in the U.S.

“Payment systems at the point of sale provide crucial infrastructure for the development of mobile commerce,” said Scott Mulloy, chief technology officer, Isis. “Our work with VeriFone helps bring to market the product and technical capabilities critical to success, but more importantly leverages VeriFone’s massive U.S. footprint to turn on Isis quickly and easily at large merchants.”

“We are excited about the opportunity help launch Isis with retailers in Salt Lake and Austin and we are ready to provide the expertise and services necessary for a national rollout,” said Jennifer Miles, VeriFone executive vice president, North America. “VeriFone customers will be able to leverage the integration of the mobile experience to engage consumers with new payment options, couponing, and loyalty services.”

VeriFone will layer Isis interfaces and user experience onto its pre-existing integration at hundreds of thousands of merchant locations in the United States, alongside traditional payment forms. Merchants will become Isis Ready^TM through a combination of new payment systems and NFC add-ons devices, as well as remote software upgrades of certain devices already in the field.

Additional Resources:
www.verifone.com/isiswallet