- Payment solutions provider Splitit (SPT) is stepping up its expansion efforts through a partnership with Shanghai-based UnionPay International
- A subsidiary of China UnionPay, the provider of bank card services covers 180 countries and more than 55 million merchants worldwide
- The two companies will integrate their services, giving UnionPay’s cardholders the opportunity to utilise Splitit’s instalment payments product
- While the partnership supports Splitit’s growth plans, the company warned that it is unlikely to yield a short-term economic benefit
- Shares in Splitit finished trading yesterday at $0.78 each
Payment solutions provider Splitit (SPT) is stepping up its expansion efforts through a partnership with Shanghai-based UnionPay International.
A subsidiary of state-owned China UnionPay, the provider of bank card services covers 180 countries and regions and is available to more than 55 million merchants worldwide. Over nine billion UnionPay cards — both debit and credit — are on issue, 150 million of which exist outside of mainland China.
Under the partnership, the two companies’ platforms will be integrated, giving UnionPay’s card holders — as well as those merchants accepting UnionPay — the opportunity to utilise Splitit’s instalment payments product as of June.
“The cooperation with Splitit is a remarkable milestone for UnionPay to further deepen its cooperation with partners in the South Pacific region,” said Jiangtao Jian, General Manager of UnionPay International’s South Pacific branch.
“We’re excited to bring this partnership with Splitit to UPI customers globally so they can benefit from increased flexibility in how they pay,” he added.
While Splitit says the partnership will support its strategic growth plans, the company warned it is unlikely to yield any short-term economic benefits and that the “economic materiality” of the agreement remains unknown.
However, Brad Paterson, CEO of Splitit, maintains that “the partnership is another significant milestone in Splitit’s Asia Pacific expansion strategy to boost consumer adoption and merchant acceptance,” adding that the increased relevance to more cardholders and merchants will, in turn, accelerate the company’s merchant sales volume.
“Partnering with UnionPay opens up our solution to UnionPay credit card holders, building on our existing card partner networks,” he said.
“It combines our unique instalment solution and global reach, with UnionPay’s powerful card holder base to allow countless more shoppers to better use their existing credit.”
Shares in Splitit finished trading yesterday at $0.78 each.