UnionPay cards to be accepted by Brazilian bank

BEIJING -- China UnionPay, the country's largest bank card payment processor, said Thursday that its cards will now be accepted by automatic teller machines (ATMs) owned by Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco starting from June 2.

Point of sale (POS) systems used by Redcard, the country's leading bank card payment processor, will also accept UnionPay cards, according to China UnionPay.

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The move is an important opportunity for China UnionPay to expand its services in South America, the company said.

In September 2010, the company reached agreements with Redcard and Itau Unibanco, Brazil's largest commercial bank, to expand the acceptance of UnionPay cards by Brazilian merchants and ATMs in Brazil.

According to the agreements, Itau Unibanco will gradually add UnionPay card services to its 23,000 ATMs. A total of 130,000 Brazilian merchants using the Redcard POS system will also be able to accept UnionPay cards.