China UnionPay and American Express to Explore Opportunities Inside and Outside China

NEW YORK and SHANGHAI - China UnionPay and American Express today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for both companies to explore the expansion of their current cooperative activities. For the past several years, China UnionPay and American Express have cooperated within China where American Express Cards run on the China UnionPay network. This new MOU will establish working teams to develop potential new areas of cooperation between the two companies within China and in markets outside of China.

About China UnionPay
China UnionPay, established in 2002, is the bankcard association in China. As the pivotal role of China’s bankcard industry, China UnionPay is responsible for operating the unified inter-bank clearing and settlement system in China and developing the international acceptance network for UnionPay card. To date, the total number of UnionPay cards issued worldwide has exceeded 2.3 billion. China UnionPay has also established partnership with around 400 financial institutions all over the world. As of now, UnionPay cards international acceptance network has been extended to 92 countries and regions. Over 10 of them have issued UnionPay cards. For more information, go to www.chinaunionpay.com.

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Since 1996, American Express has been pursuing a strategy of opening its merchant network and card product portfolio to third party issuers around the world. By leveraging its global infrastructure and the powerful appeal of the brand, American Express has gained even broader reach for its network worldwide. American Express has now established 130 partnerships in 130 markets across the world. Learn more at www.americanexpress.com/gns.