Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi (left) with UnionPay executive president Chai Hongfeng after signing the partnership in Nairobi on Thursday 09, 11, 2012. JENNIFER MUIRURI
What you need to know:
UnionPay, set up in 2002, is ranked the world’s leading card payment system with a report by Retail Banking Research in London showing that the firm’s logo appears in 29.2 per cent of the eight billion cards issued worldwide.
Equity Bank has partnered with Chinese electronic card provider UnionPay in a deal that will see part of the state-backed company’s 3.2 billion customers make transactions through the lender’s regional ATMs and branches.
The bank inked the deal with UnionPay, which does not have a direct partnership with global card providers like Visa and MasterCard making it difficult for its customer to transact business in countries like Kenya where it does not have agents.
The partnership is expected to lift Equity’s transactional income, aided by the rising number of Chinese workers, tourists, and traders in a period when trade between Asia and Africa is growing.
“UnionPay will utilise Equity’s market advantage within East Africa to meet demands of its growing customer base in the region,” said Equity CEO James Mwangi during the unveiling of the partnership on Thursday.
“With the Chinese population growing steadily in East Africa and an estimated 20,000 Chinese tourists visiting Kenya every year, the partnership with Equity Bank opens doors for the 3.2 billion China UnionPay card holders globally.” Bed-night occupancy by nationals from Asia grew by 29.4 per cent from 262,000 in 2010 to 339,000 last year.
The Chinese contributed the largest increase of 38,900 bed-nights occupancy of the additional 77,000.
This also at a time when Chinese firms have increasingly set up shop in the country as they secure multi billion shilling infrastructure contracts in the region. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), for intance, is spending billions of shillings in exploration for oil and gas.
Last year, Kenya imported goods worth Sh144 billion from China and exported Sh3.8 billion in goods, placing it the country’s third largest trading partner ahead after United Arab Emirates and India.
“The partnership will significantly ease trade operations and strengthen the newly found partnership between the two countries,” Mr Mwangi said. UnionPay, set up in 2002, is ranked the world’s leading card payment system with a report by Retail Banking Research in London showing that the firm’s logo appears in 29.2 per cent of the eight billion cards issued worldwide. [email protected]
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
