#China #Shanghai #UnionPay #Cross-Border Payments #QR Codes

UnionPay International's Cross-Border Payment Gateway

On September 16, 2025, UnionPay International announced the official pilot launch of its Cross-Border Payment Gateway (CPG) that began trial operations at the end of July. This new initiative, developed under the principles of inclusivity and accessibility, aims to enhance cross-border QR code interoperability. The gateway enables institutions both within China and globally to connect through a single access point, simplifying the payment process for users worldwide.

The Cross-Border Payment Gateway offers several essential services, including standardized technical interfaces, information switching, real-time transaction monitoring and analysis, making it easier and safer for users to conduct cross-border payments via QR codes. This initiative not only facilitates transactions for Chinese and foreign partners but also allows institutions within China to complete integrations directly through standardized UnionPay interfaces. This accessibility encourages both local payments in markets outside of mainland China and cross-border payments among these markets.

UnionPay emphasizes that the CPG offers four significant advantages for partners integrating cross-border QR code payments. Firstly, it reduces integration costs and resource waste by minimizing the need for repeated system changes. Secondly, it promotes unified standards for cooperation with foreign wallet providers, thereby enhancing their experience when accessing the Chinese payment market and supporting fair competition in the global QR payment ecosystem. Thirdly, foreign wallets can achieve broader coverage by accepting payments in mainland China, allowing merchants using WeChat Pay to also process transactions from these wallets. Finally, the CPG employs a unified information interface for both incoming payments from foreign wallets and outgoing transactions from Chinese wallets, enabling centralized management of cross-border QR code payments. This feature ensures a safer and more reliable service for global users.

Foreign wallet operators can leverage these benefits through their partnership with UnionPay in two main ways. First, they can offer mobile payment options for various use cases through an integrated UnionPay wallet payment solution, which supports OEM payments, QR code transactions, and in-app payments. Secondly, they can tap into UnionPay's global partner network for broader reach, while also enjoying UnionPay card benefits and value-added services tailored for specific use cases, enhancing user engagement.

As a key developer of the CPG, UnionPay has been advocating for QR code interoperability through comprehensive service development and ecosystem enhancement. In mainland China, UnionPay has intensified its efforts to support excellent projects and continued to improve payment services for international visitors. By August this year, this initiative covered 1.35 million merchants across key use cases, with 232 aggregated QR code products accepting payments from foreign wallets, and 168 major online merchants processing UnionPay cards issued outside mainland China. These accomplishments lay a solid foundation for a unified and convenient payment ecosystem in China.

Data indicates that transactions executed in mainland China using UnionPay cards issued outside the country or international wallets associated with UnionPay saw a staggering year-on-year increase: a 111% growth in volume and a 29% increase in value. On an international scale, UnionPay supports QR code cross-border interoperability through parallel partnerships established via Government-to-Government (G2G) and Network-to-Network (N2N) models. So far, UnionPay has initiated or is engaged in 19 interoperability projects with partners across 19 countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Argentina. As a result, over 11 million foreign merchants are now accepting UnionPay QR code payments, with projections indicating these figures will reach tens of millions by year-end.

Additionally, over 170 foreign wallets for QR code payments are now integrated into the UnionPay network, covering 30 countries and regions beyond mainland China. Official data confirm the rapid growth of the CPG, with an impressive total of 1.981 million transactions valued at 427 million yuan processed by September 11. With the ongoing expansion of visa-free access in China, UnionPay's continuous improvements to the CPG infrastructure will play a pivotal role in unlocking growth potential for foreign tourists, facilitating global travel and business exchanges, and fortifying the CPG's position as a cornerstone for international payment interoperability.