UnionPay International celebrates convenient payment for Chinese in France

UnionPay international's message on the celebration of 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, UnionPay International has witnessed and served the exchanges and deep friendship between the two countries' people through nearly 20 years of developing the payment business in France.

Through the continuous enhancement of the payment experience, UnionPay International will continue to deepen its localization in France, serving more local residents and Chinese visitors, and extends its best wishes for the further advancement of Sino-French relations to new heights.

Ti Gong

Milestones of UnionPay International in France

• In 2005, UnionPay initiated its operations in France, in tandem with the footsteps of Chinese visitors to France.
• In 2005, through a partnership with Eufiserv, UnionPay card was accepted at ATMs in France.
• In 2006, the first UnionPay payment transaction in France was made in the Printemps department store on April 3. It was also the first milestone resulting from a strategic agreement between Crédit Agricole Group and China Unionpay.
• In 2008, UnionPay International signed a partnership with the French national tourism office Maison de la France (now ATOUT France) to together promote Chinese tourism to France.
• In 2015, UnionPay International announced the acceptance of its cards by Crédit Mutuel, a leading French bank based in Strasbourg, to enable UnionPay in 100,000 merchants and more than 5,600 ATMs in France.
• In 2017, UnionPay International collaborated with the Provence DLVA (Durance-Luberon Verdon) Tourist Office to create a "UnionPay Payment Model Town" in the region, enabling tourists to use their UnionPay cards conveniently in Southern France.
• In 2018, Marionnaud, Europe's largest perfumery and cosmetics retail chain and part of the A.S. Watson Group, announced that it had fully enabled acceptance of UnionPay cards in all its 495 stores in France through a partnership with UnionPay.
• In 2018, G7, the biggest taxi company in Paris signed an agreement with UnionPay International to enable UnionPay in all of its taxis, that amount to 11,000 today. G7 taxis can now accept UnionPay contactless payment.
• In 2018, UnionPay International issued its first dual-currency UnionPay card in France with Bank of China, extending support for personnel exchanges and economic and trade communication between China and France.
• In 2019, Crédit Agricole enabled QuickPass, the contactless payment of UnionPay for Galeries Lafayette to enrich the payment experience of UnionPay cardholders in France.
• In 2023, UnionPay International had nearly 630,000 merchants in France and 75 percent of ATMs accepted UnionPay cards. Approximately 200,000 POS terminals supported UnionPay mobile payments, with key tourist destinations such as Paris and Provence boasting seamless acceptance.