JCB International (JCBI), has signed an ATM gateway agreement with China UnionPay (CUP). This will enable CUP cardholders to have access to ATM networks in Japan through a gateway platform provided by JCBI.

The acceptance will begin with the UFJ Bank ATM network of more than 6,000 ATMs from March 2006, the first time that CUP’s 800 million members will be able to use an ATM network in Japan. Following the arrangement with UFJ Bank, the acceptance will be expanded to Japan Post which will open its network of 26,000 ATMs to CUP cards starting in May 2006.

China UnionPay, based in Shanghai and licensed by People’s Bank of China, is China’s only national payment network, and was jointly established in March 2002 by more than 80 financial institutions in China.

The number of Chinese visiting Japan has been growing rapidly in recent years, reaching 620,000 in 2004, a significant increase of 37% over the previous year, and is expected to climb to one million in the near future. The acceptance of CUP cards at Japan’s ATMs will bring a new revenue stream for financial institutions and ATM operators in Japan. ( JCN Newswire )

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