SHANGHAI, Dec. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International announced today that 600,000 more merchants in Europe are newly enabled to accept UnionPay this year. So far, more than 2.2 million merchants in 39 European countries and regions accept UnionPay, taking up 50% of all the merchants supporting bankcard payment.
Since this September, UnionPay International has inked acceptance agreements with many institutions in Europe, including Swedbank, the largest acquirer in Sweden; ICCREA, a major banking group in Italy;Česká spořitelna, the largest commercial bank in the Czech Republic; Unicre, the largest acquirer in Portugal; B+S and CardProcess, two major acquirers in Germany, and NGB, one of the four major banks in Greece.
UnionPay's acceptance network in Europe is expanding rapidly. Now, UnionPay is accepted by almost all ATMs in Switzerland, Austria and Iceland, and over 50% of merchants in Switzerland. In Italy, over 80% of ATMs and 50%of merchants accept UnionPay, and this coverage is expected to rise to 60% next year. In Spain, 80% of ATMs and 70% of merchants accept UnionPay. All ATMs and merchants with POS terminals in Greece will accept UnionPay next year.
UnionPay is accepted at department stores, duty-free stores, brand stores, hotels, restaurants, historical and cultural sites, and entertainment establishments, for example at the bookstore and gift store of renowned museums of Louvre, Versailles, Orsay, Picasso, and Strasbourg Citrus Orchard. Last month Louvre Hotels Group enabled 23 Paris hotels most popular among Chinese tourists to accept UnionPay, and will enable all of its 200 self-operated hotels in France to accept UnionPay at the beginning of 2017.
With the optimization of UnionPay's acceptance environment and service system in Europe, UnionPay cards are frequently used in Europe not only by the Chinese, but also by more and more cardholders outside mainland China. According to the latest data, UnionPay cards issued in about 30 countries and regions are frequently used in the Europe this year.
In addition, UnionPay is accepted online, especially in the fields of transportation and education. European airlines, such as Air France, Air Holland, Deutsche Lufthansa, Finnair, Ukraine International Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines, support online ticket booking with UnionPay cards. Independent travelers may also use UnionPay cards to purchase Eurail Pass online. More than 100 universities in the UK, France, Switzerland and Czech support online tuition payment with UnionPay cards.