China UnionPay

In the early 2000s, China's banking landscape was fragmented. While bank cards existed, they operated on separate networks, meaning a card from one bank often wouldn't work at another's ATM or merchant terminal. The government recognized the need for a unified system. This led to the launch of China UnionPay in Shanghai in March 2002, with the backing of the People's Bank of China and major state-owned banks. The project was initiated by Dai Xianglong, the governor of the People's Bank of China at the time. As a state-owned enterprise, UnionPay established a single, unified network connecting all ATMs and point-of-sale terminals across the country. This move was instrumental in popularizing card-based payments and reducing reliance on cash for daily transactions. The company's domestic growth was rapid, creating a near-monopoly on card processing within mainland China. Seeing the rise of outbound Chinese tourism, UnionPay began its international expansion in 2004, starting with Hong Kong. A key moment in this expansion was a 2005 agreement with Discover Network, which allowed UnionPay cards to be used on the PULSE network in the United States and Discover cards to be used in China. In 2012, to accelerate its global strategy, UnionPay established UnionPay International (UPI) as a subsidiary focused on its overseas business. While the core company is state-owned and not publicly traded, its merchant services arm, China UMS, was reported in 2020 to be exploring an IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market.