Amadeus integrates UnionPay into Amadeus Payment Platform

Madrid, Spain, and Shanghai, China, 27 August 2014: UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business, and Amadeus sign an agreement to integrate UnionPay debit and credit cards into the Amadeus Payment Platform (APP). Amadeus travel providers, including airlines and online travel agencies worldwide can now offer China’s preferred card as an online payment option directly via the APP across over 140 countries where UnionPay is accepted. With this agreement, Chinese travelers will now find it easier to travel overseas as they pay with their preferred payment card, allowing travel providers to gain a strong foothold into Chinese outbound and domestic tourism.

UnionPay is the largest card scheme worldwide with over 4.3 billion cards in circulation[1] , supporting every major Chinese consumer bank[2]. Last year, the payment made by outbound Chinese tourists via UnionPay’s network accounted for 80% of the total.

Amadeus Payment Platform, used by over 300 airlines worldwide, ensures a fast and easy payment process to all its travel provider users as authorisation is integrated in the ticketing and selling flow. This also translates into enhanced transaction information, in turn, facilitating payment reconciliation. Furthermore, the APP offers travel tailored functionalities that provide a secure payment environment to both travelers and travel providers.

Larry Wang, Chief Business Development Officer of UnionPay International, said “We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with Amadeus as we count on their travel IT expertise and global reach to cater to Chinese travelers, giving them the convenience of using their preferred payment card. I am confident that this initiative will further boost Chinese tourists’ outbound trips as they look to discover new destinations.”

Celia Pereiro, Head of Amadeus Travel Payments, said “The partnership with UnionPay cements our commitment to the booming Chinese tourism market and beyond. Not only will our travel providers have a quick and easy link to the immense base of UnionPay cardholders in China, but they can also rely on the APP’s robustness, speed and simplicity to process their payments. The combination of our global reach with UnionPay’s considerable share of the e-commerce market will offer the perfect solution to our customers as they look to expand their business in China.”

UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business. UnionPay International has partnerships with over 300 organizations worldwide and has enabled card acceptance in over 140 countries and issuing in more than 30 countries. UnionPay International provides high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world’s largest cardholder base and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants.

For more information, please visit www.unionpayintl.com.

Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations and travel management companies).

The Amadeus group employs around 10,000 people worldwide, across central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding (operations), as well as 71 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations globally. The group operates a transaction-based business model. Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol “AMS.MC” and is a component of the IBEX 35 index. To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com.

Amadeus Travel Payments is dedicated to providing end-to-end payment solutions tailored to the travel industry. With a team of travel and payment experts, the unit offers solutions based on the Amadeus Payment Platform (APP) to over 300 airline customers. APP enables our customers to access more than 250 relevant acquiring banks and 100 alternative methods of payment worldwide.