UnionPay International Enhances Global Payment Interoperability with New Cross-Border Payment Gateway
On September 16, it was announced that China’s Cross-Border Interconnection Gateway (CPG) has officially begun experimental operations as of late July 2025. UnionPay International has played a pivotal role in the framework development of the CPG over the past six months. Focused on inclusivity and public accessibility, the CPG allows institutions both within and outside mainland China to achieve QR code interoperability across borders via a unified access point.
By offering services like standardized technical interfaces, transaction information switching and distribution, alongside real-time transaction tracking and analysis, the CPG significantly streamlines QR code cross-border payments, making them more efficient, user-friendly, and secure for global consumers. The preliminary launch equips Chinese and international partners with seamless access: mainland institutions can integrate directly using UnionPay’s standardized interfaces while foreign partners can connect to the CPG through UnionPay International.
This development not only facilitates QR code cross-border payments between mainland China and the rest of the world, but it also allows for local QR code payments in markets outside of mainland China, as well as cross-border QR code payments among those markets.
Integrating the CPG via a singular access point through UnionPay presents four key advantages for partners implementing cross-border QR links. First, the CPG lowers system integration costs and mitigates resource wastage caused by frequent system alterations. Secondly, the gateway promotes unified standards for cooperation with foreign wallet providers, offering enhanced efficiency and improved experiences in accessing China's payment market while fostering fair competition and healthy growth within the global QR code cross-border payment ecosystem. Thirdly, foreign wallets can gain wider acceptance in mainland China. Beyond UnionPay’s network, merchants utilizing WeChat Pay QR codes will also accommodate payments from these wallets. Lastly, the CPG incorporates a unified information interface for incoming payments from foreign wallets and outgoing transactions from Chinese wallets, which facilitates centralized management of cross-border QR code payments, thus helping participating institutions provide safer and more reliable services to users worldwide.
By collaborating with UnionPay, foreign wallet operators can unlock dual value propositions. Firstly, they can extend mobile payment capabilities to a broader range of use cases through UnionPay’s integrated wallet payment solution which encompasses terminal payments, QR code payments, and in-app transactions. They can also leverage UnionPay’s global partnership network. Secondly, they can benefit from UnionPay card advantages and employ use-case-based value-added services to boost user engagement.
As a key developer of the CPG, UnionPay has advanced QR code interoperability by cultivating comprehensive services and developing an ecosystem over recent years. In mainland China, UnionPay has intensified efforts to promote its Excellence project while continuously enhancing payment services for international visitors. By August 2025, this initiative reached 1.35 million merchants across key usage scenarios, with 232 aggregated QR code products accepting foreign wallets for payments, and 168 major online merchants accepting UnionPay cards issued outside of mainland China. Such solid groundwork has been laid for a unified and more convenient payment ecosystem in China.
Recent statistics highlight a 111% increase in the number of transactions carried out in mainland China using UnionPay cards from abroad or international partner wallets compared to the previous year, alongside a 29% increase in the monetary value of these transactions.
On the international front, UnionPay has stimulated QR code interoperability across borders using two parallel partnership models: Government-to-Government (G2G) and Network-to-Network (N2N). To date, UnionPay has launched or is working on 19 interoperability projects in collaboration with counterparts across 19 countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Argentina. As a consequence, over 11 million foreign merchants are now equipped to accept QR code payments from UnionPay, a figure expected to reach several tens of millions by the end of the year. Concerning accounts, more than 170 foreign QR code payment wallets have integrated into the UnionPay network, spanning 30 countries and regions outside mainland China.
Official data reports rapid growth in CPG usage, processing 1.981 million transactions valued at 427 million RMB by September 11th. As China continues to expand visa-free entry policies, UnionPay’s ongoing efforts to enhance CPG infrastructure will play a critical role in unlocking growth potential in inbound consumption, facilitating travel, global trade exchanges, and solidifying the CPG’s position as a cornerstone for international payment interoperability.
By offering services like standardized technical interfaces, transaction information switching and distribution, alongside real-time transaction tracking and analysis, the CPG significantly streamlines QR code cross-border payments, making them more efficient, user-friendly, and secure for global consumers. The preliminary launch equips Chinese and international partners with seamless access: mainland institutions can integrate directly using UnionPay’s standardized interfaces while foreign partners can connect to the CPG through UnionPay International.
This development not only facilitates QR code cross-border payments between mainland China and the rest of the world, but it also allows for local QR code payments in markets outside of mainland China, as well as cross-border QR code payments among those markets.
Integrating the CPG via a singular access point through UnionPay presents four key advantages for partners implementing cross-border QR links. First, the CPG lowers system integration costs and mitigates resource wastage caused by frequent system alterations. Secondly, the gateway promotes unified standards for cooperation with foreign wallet providers, offering enhanced efficiency and improved experiences in accessing China's payment market while fostering fair competition and healthy growth within the global QR code cross-border payment ecosystem. Thirdly, foreign wallets can gain wider acceptance in mainland China. Beyond UnionPay’s network, merchants utilizing WeChat Pay QR codes will also accommodate payments from these wallets. Lastly, the CPG incorporates a unified information interface for incoming payments from foreign wallets and outgoing transactions from Chinese wallets, which facilitates centralized management of cross-border QR code payments, thus helping participating institutions provide safer and more reliable services to users worldwide.
By collaborating with UnionPay, foreign wallet operators can unlock dual value propositions. Firstly, they can extend mobile payment capabilities to a broader range of use cases through UnionPay’s integrated wallet payment solution which encompasses terminal payments, QR code payments, and in-app transactions. They can also leverage UnionPay’s global partnership network. Secondly, they can benefit from UnionPay card advantages and employ use-case-based value-added services to boost user engagement.
As a key developer of the CPG, UnionPay has advanced QR code interoperability by cultivating comprehensive services and developing an ecosystem over recent years. In mainland China, UnionPay has intensified efforts to promote its Excellence project while continuously enhancing payment services for international visitors. By August 2025, this initiative reached 1.35 million merchants across key usage scenarios, with 232 aggregated QR code products accepting foreign wallets for payments, and 168 major online merchants accepting UnionPay cards issued outside of mainland China. Such solid groundwork has been laid for a unified and more convenient payment ecosystem in China.
Recent statistics highlight a 111% increase in the number of transactions carried out in mainland China using UnionPay cards from abroad or international partner wallets compared to the previous year, alongside a 29% increase in the monetary value of these transactions.
On the international front, UnionPay has stimulated QR code interoperability across borders using two parallel partnership models: Government-to-Government (G2G) and Network-to-Network (N2N). To date, UnionPay has launched or is working on 19 interoperability projects in collaboration with counterparts across 19 countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Argentina. As a consequence, over 11 million foreign merchants are now equipped to accept QR code payments from UnionPay, a figure expected to reach several tens of millions by the end of the year. Concerning accounts, more than 170 foreign QR code payment wallets have integrated into the UnionPay network, spanning 30 countries and regions outside mainland China.
Official data reports rapid growth in CPG usage, processing 1.981 million transactions valued at 427 million RMB by September 11th. As China continues to expand visa-free entry policies, UnionPay’s ongoing efforts to enhance CPG infrastructure will play a critical role in unlocking growth potential in inbound consumption, facilitating travel, global trade exchanges, and solidifying the CPG’s position as a cornerstone for international payment interoperability.
Topics Financial Services & Investing）
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