Partnership expands UnionPayto Sage Pay customers in the UK, allowing small businesses to accept Chinese bank card payments

Sage Pay has been named as a new strategic partner of  MoneySwap, enabling high street businesses to accept UnionPay (formerly China UnionPay) transactions securely and speedily.

For Sage Pay’s customers, the partnership with MoneySwap helps small and medium sized businesses benefit from the Asian tourist market. Now small, independent, UK businesses will be able to accept foreign revenue from Chinese visitors who want to pay with their existing UnionPay cards.

This alliance comes at a time when Chinese visitors are some of the biggest spenders on the British high street. This, coupled with the ‘quaint and quintessential Britishness’ which is proving popular amongst Chinese consumers, means there is a real opportunity for small businesses to capitalise on a different audience. With MoneySwap, Sage Pay helpsretailers offer this important customer base a payments experience they’re accustomed to, optimising available revenue to compete with bigger enterprises.

“For UnionPay users in the UK, MoneySwap is a recognisable and trusted payments provider,” said Pete Casale, Managing Director at MoneySwap. “These tourists will welcome the lack of currency conversion charges and expenditure cap which Chinese tourists currently face when purchasing with cash abroad.”

Sage Pay’s user-friendly technology and pre-programmed UnionPay terminals allow the merchant to simply plug-in-and-play.

“MoneySwap is a key acquirer for UnionPay and chose to partner with Sage Pay over other UK payments providers because of Sage Pay’s flexible technological development, seamless functionality and its high security,” added Casale.

“For small and independent UK businesses to be successful, it’s vital that they can compete with the large enterprises in any way possible,” said Patrick Hannah, Head of Partner Management at Sage Pay. “At the centre of this is a slick payments experience for all consumers and by offering UnionPay, Sage Pay users will be able to accept foreign revenue, aiding their business growth. We are excited at the prospect of being able to offer UnionPay to our customers and we’re thrilled that MoneySwap chose to partner with us.”

This partnership, along with Sage Pay’s DCC (Direct Currency Conversion) and Tax Free shopping functionality, completes Sage Pay’s offering to enable businesses to make the most of overseas shoppers.