China's UnionPay set to take on Visa and MasterCard globally
China's state-controlled UnionPay is looking to steal market share from credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard in countries such as Myanmar, where only 2% of its 54 million people presently have credit cards. "For many people in emerging markets, this will be the first card they come in contact with," says Neil Katkov of Celent in Tokyo. By value of card transactions, UnionPay has become the largest bank card group globally in just 15 years, accounting for 37% of the $21.6tn worldwide payments market in 2015. Commentators believe the firm has a clear government mandate to take on rivals Visa and MasterCard outside of China.

Countries like Myanmar, where only 2% of the nation’s 53m people have credit cards, are ground zero for China’s state-controlled card-payment monopoly UnionPay’s attempt to steal global market share from companies such as Visa and MasterCard, the Financial Times reports. “For many people in emerging markets, this will be the first card they come in contact with,” said Neil Katkov, senior vice-president at finance consultant Celent in Tokyo. In just 15 years, UnionPay has become the largest bank cards group in the world by value of card transactions, taking a 37% chunk of the $21.6tn global payments market in 2015. But those customers are almost entirely in China, where it has a de facto monopoly. Outside China, UnionPay claims just 0.5% of the global market, compared with Visa’s 50% and MasterCard’s 31%. Experts watching the group say it has a clear government mandate to take on Visa and MasterCard outside China.

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