UnionPay Push QR Code Payment Acceptance Now Available Outside Mainland China

Currently being launched outside mainland China, a new UnionPay initiative enables merchants to offer ”push” QR code payments to their customers at the upcoming Macau Food Festival.

One of the main consumer benefits of a push transaction is that it’s initiated by the customer. Here, the customer uses their mobile app to scan the QR code presented by the merchant in order to make a payment. Merchants who are directly connected to the UnionPay International Merchant Service Platform can accept this transaction.

This, of course, is very different from a “pull” transaction (also offered by UnionPay), which requires the merchant to initiate the sale by using a QR code reader to scan the QR code in the customer’s app.

Known globally as the “Vegas of China,” Macau will be hosting more than 150 merchants at their annual festival – all of which will now have the ability to offer their customers the convenience of tap-and-go commerce. And, according to the press release, customers will also be able to pay with a BOC Food Festival e-wallet card or a UnionPay QuickPass-enabled credit card.

According to the same press release, UnionPay Mobile QuickPass is also gaining traction in the areas surrounding mainland China. Mobile QuickPass enables customers to pay by tapping their mobile phone and, as of third quarter 2017, is already accepted at more than 600,000 point-of-sale terminals outside the mainland area.

The same release reports that in Macau specifically, 90 percent of merchants accepting contactless payments currently accept UnionPay Mobile Quickpass.