Western Union Partnership With ChinaPay Will Enable Direct RMB
Payments for Universities Around the World
LONDON, November 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Western Union Business Solutions, a unit of The Western Union
Company (NYSE:WU), today announced its plans for expanding Western
Union's partnership with ChinaPay, the online and mobile payments
subsidiary of UnionPay, the bankcard association in
China.
The expanded partnership with Western Union Business Solutions
will enable participating universities and higher education
institutions around the world to accept international tuition and
student fees in the Chinese Renminbi (RMB).
Together, Western Union Business Solutions and ChinaPay intend
to offer an integrated, co-branded platform that will allow
universities to give incoming Chinese students and their parents
the ability to make foreign tuition payments in their home country
and currency. Combining ChinaPay's online and mobile payment
portals with Western Union Business Solutions' integrated foreign
exchange and payment platforms will enable fast and reliable fund
reconciliation and will allow payers to have funds deducted from
their bank accounts in real time.
"More students go abroad from China than any other country in the world"
said Kerry Agiasotis, Chief Commercial Officer, Western Union
Business Solutions. "Over 1 million Chinese students studied abroad
in 2011 and China is clearly an
important market for universities globally. I am delighted that our
partnership with ChinaPay will allow us to create a platform that
will make it easy for them to accept local RMB payments in a timely
and efficient manner."[1]
"We are excited to be launching this collaboration with Western
Union Business Solutions," said Cathy
Wang, Vice General Manager of ChinaPay. "International
education is increasingly important for many in China. Western Union's work to improve
the speed and efficiency of cross-border payments for hundreds of
universities and higher education institutions around the world
make them an ideal partner that will give students and their
families a reliable, convenient payment solution."
Students from China comprised
15.72 per cent of the international student body in the
United Kingdom in 2010-11,
according to the UK Council for International Student Affairs
(UKCISA).[2] 67,325 Chinese students studied in the UK
in 2010-11, an increase of 18 per cent from the previous year, and
China provides more international
students to the UK than any other country.
"Hundreds of millions of Chinese cardholders use ChinaPay's
online services; they really are the market leader," concluded Mr.
Agiasotis. "Combining their innovative and extensive platforms with
our existing service will enable universities to make the most of
the opportunities a globalised Renminbi presents and offer local
currency payments in one of the world's largest international
student markets."
Western Union Business Solutions enables businesses,
colleges and universities of all sizes to send and receive
international payments and manage foreign exchange in more than 135
currencies, creating unique solutions tailored to suit their FX
needs. Institutions are supported by a network of trading
offices, strategic banking relationships and a global clearing
network. Universities use the cross-border payments service for
study-abroad programs, student refunds, and for professors or
recruiters traveling worldwide. For more information, visit
http://business.westernunion.com/industry/education/
--------------------------------------------------
1. Beijing Times, 21 August, 2012;
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-08/21/content_15693813.htm
2. Source:
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/about/statistics_he.php#table1
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global
payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago
Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment
services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with
fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around
the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of
September 30, 2012, the Western
Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered
through a combined network of approximately 510,000 agent locations
in 200 countries and territories. In 2011, The Western Union
Company completed 226 million consumer-to-consumer transactions
worldwide, moving $81 billion of
principal between consumers, and 425 million business payments. For
more information, visit http://www.westernunion.com.
About ChinaPay
ChinaPay was established in 2002 to engage in the online payment
acquiring business under UnionPay. ChinaPay is a leading
third-party payment service provider in China and holds the electronic payment
licenses for third-party payment companies issued by the People's
Bank of China. ChinaPay's
self-proprietary unified payment gateway provides comprehensive and
secure internet and mobile payment solutions for merchants.
ChinaPay spearheaded the cross-border acceptance of UnionPay cards
online by launching cooperation with overseas partners to provide
merchants with internet payment solutions. For more information,
please visit http://www.chinapay.com
Contact:
Western Union Business Solutions
Jennifer
Berlin
+44-779-549-7129
jennifer.berlin@westernunion.com
Redleaf Polhill
Lauren Franze / George Parrett / Karl
Wiseman
+44-207-5666-750
wubs@redleafpolhill.com
ChinaPay
Mr. Jian, GUAN
+86-21-6087-2156
guan.jian@ChinaPay.com