SHANGHAI, November 17. UnionPay International (UPI) announced today its deepened payment cooperation with Huawei to launch wearables-based mobile payment service outside the Chinese mainland, starting with Hong Kong, Macao, and Russia. Local consumers can enjoy the new experience of paying with just a tap of the wrist after adding their UnionPay cards to to a Huawei Watch 3.

UPI has doubled down on mobile payment services in response to the changing payment habits of global consumers. It has enabled more than 10 million merchants in overseas markets to accept UnionPay QR code or various OEM Pay products, and implemented over 100 UnionPay-compliant e-wallets. Huawei is an important partner of UPI's as it accelerates the localization of mobile payment services. Both parties, in joint efforts, have enabled 15 banks in seven countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland to support UnionPay-powered Huawei Pay, so that UnionPay cardholders of these banks can make tap-and-go payments.

This cooperation further expands the scope of devices compatible with Huawei Pay to serve more overseas users. UnionPay cardholders of 10 banks, like Bank of China (Hong Kong), Atlantic Bank in Macao, and Gazprombank, after adding their cards to a Huawei Watch 3, can pay with their wrist near POS terminals after unlocking without internet connection.

The service can be used across various use cases. UnionPay cards are supported in 180 countries and regions, almost half of which have been enabled for contactless payments and OEM pay products. For regions involved in this cooperation, Huawei Pay has been supported at almost all POS terminals in Hong Kong and Macao, and over 90% terminals in Russia, including key use cases such as subways in Moscow and buses in Hong Kong.