KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 8, 2018 — UnionPay International (UPI) is please to announce that GHL Cardpay Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of GHL Systems Berhad (“GHL”), has been appointed as a direct merchant acquirer for UnionPay International for the Malaysian market.
UPI focuses on the international business of UnionPay, a global payment brand that serves the world’s largest card base of over 7 billion. In Southeast Asia, UnionPay has enabled ATM, POS acceptance and card issuance across all 10 countries. In Malaysia, UnionPay collaborates with over 10 partners for acquiring and issuing locally.
In April 2018, UPI announced that it has kick started the nationwide deployment of the EMV-compliant QR Code for payments in Malaysia, working with various acquirers for the first large-scale deployment of QR Code for payments locally. The national roll-out will cover a wide range of merchants across retail, food & beverage, attractions, entertainment, hotels, transport categories and more.
GHL has commenced merchant acquiring for UPI and is expected to hit 5,000 merchant outlets by August 2018. GHL will be enabling merchants to accept both UnionPay card payments and QR Code payments.
GHL’s Group CEO Danny Leong said, “We are pleased to partner with UPI in enabling Malaysian merchants to add another payment channel to the existing card schemes, debit schemes and various e-wallets. Our unique multi-channel acquirer model will enable convenience and cost savings to our merchant base as they will be able to streamline their settlement to a single point and provider.”
“We are privileged to have a forward-looking partner like GHL to enable e-payments across Malaysia. This is in line with our earlier announcement of enabling QR Code payments locally to support Bank Negara’s vision of a cashless society. This also affirms our commitment to bringing innovative payment solutions to Malaysian consumers and businesses to enable greater convenience, security and ease of payment,” said Mr. Wenhui Yang, General Manager, UnionPay International Southeast Asia.
In Thailand, a range of UnionPay Credit and Debit Cards are issued by Bangkok Bank, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Kasikorn Bank, Kiatnakin Bank, Krungthai Bank and Land and Houses Bank. UnionPay International partners with major local acquirers in Thailand to enable card acceptance for both online and POS merchants. UnionPay cards are accepted across major retail, lifestyle, hotel and F&B merchants.
About the GHL Group
GHL Systems Berhad (“GHL”) is ASEAN’s leading payment service provider with key operations in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Australia. GHL provides world-class payment services and solutions encompassing physical, Internet and mobile payments on a sale, rental or transactional basis and is one of the top merchant acquirers in the region.
GHL manages more than 300,000 payment acceptance points in ASEAN that enables credit card, debit card, prepaid contactless payment, QR, loyalty, prepaid top up as well as bill payment collection services. As part of our “Beyond ASEAN” strategy, GHL has also successfully established a client base in more than 20 countries.
GHL has been listed on Bursa Malaysia since 2003.
For more information on GHL Group kindly visit www.ghl.com
About UnionPay International Co., Ltd
UnionPay International (UPI) focuses on the international business of UnionPay, a global payment brand that serves the world’s largest Cardholder base. UnionPay is now one of the fastest-growing payment networks in the world with over 7 billion cards issued in 48 countries and regions, over 51 million merchants and 2.57 million ATMs accepting UnionPay in 170 countries and regions. Globally, UnionPay has more than 700,000 merchants accepting QR Code payments.
For more information on UPI, kindly visit https://www.unionpayintl.com/en
