UnionPay Teams Up with Amazon Payment Services… and MENA Just Opened Up in a Big Way
Hey Payments Fanatics!
UnionPay International is quietly stacking wins.
And today’s move with Amazon Payment Services shows exactly where they’re heading.
This collaboration plugs UnionPay acceptance straight into merchants across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan. The whole region, basically. A huge step for a network that’s been accelerating outside Asia faster than most people realize.
For merchants, it means reach. For UnionPay cardholders, it means doors opening everywhere. Zero drama, just more places where the card “just works.”
I’ve been watching UnionPay tighten its global web for a while. And honestly, this fits the pattern perfectly.
Remember that partnership update I shared five days ago? The one with Worldpay? This is almost the same energy!
And here’s the part I love: this move comes right on the heels of another expansion. Now they’re adding MENA momentum on top.
If you like seeing these pieces click together, stick with me. Today’s Payments rundown has more of where this came from. Scroll down and catch the highlights 👇
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
🇩🇪 The Payments Market Map Germany
Anyone missing in this overview? 👇
NEWS
🇵🇸 The National Bank Collaborates with Mastercard to drive digital payments transformation in Palestine. The collaboration seeks to enhance customer experience through greater convenience, security, and innovation. TNB customers will benefit from a wider range of digital banking services, premium Mastercard offers, and virtual and physical cards.
🌍 UnionPay and Amazon Payment Services expand digital payments across MENA. Under the collaboration, merchants using Amazon Payment Services will soon be able to accept UnionPay cards, enabling more secure, convenient, and seamless transactions.
🇳🇬 Flutterwave launches Naira travel card for diaspora holiday spending. The launch hopes to address the pain point for Nigerians who return home in December and face significant barriers due to cash limitations, unpredictable exchange rates, and failures of some foreign cards.
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🇮🇳 Pine Labs to launch new tap and go online payment system. The system that allows a checkout without the hassle of remembering the card verification value or CVV, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Amrish Rau. Continue reading
🇨🇦 Trulioo joins Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to help build trust in agent-led payments. As part of AP2, Trulioo will bring its expertise in identity verification and trust infrastructure to demonstrate how the Digital Agent Passport can be used in conjunction with AP2 to convey trust for agent-led transactions.
🇬🇧 Visa relocates European headquarters to London's Canary Wharf, leasing 300,000 square feet across 11 floors of One Canada Square for a 15-year term beginning in 2028; the move comes as the district rebounds from post-pandemic tenant losses, bolstered by major commitments.
🇨🇳 Tencent’s TenPay Global opens WeChat mini programs to overseas wallets. Mini programs are bite-sized apps built inside WeChat that enable users to shop, play games, book medical appointments, collect rewards, and complete other tasks without leaving the platform.
🇲🇺 Verve celebrates 100 million cards as African payments adoption accelerates. With this milestone, Verve signals its intention to keep advancing digital financial inclusion and strengthening its presence in key markets. Read more
🇰🇭 UPI Payments coming to Cambodia as NPCI partners with ACLEDA Bank for cross-border QR. Indian tourists in Cambodia will be able to use their UPI apps to pay at more than 4.5 million KHQR merchant touch points. Cambodian visitors in India will be able to scan more than 709 million UPI QRs to make payments through their Cambodian apps.
🇳🇬 TGIPay debuts all-in-one payment solution in Lagos to drive financial inclusion. The new platform provides businesses with a single interface that supports multiple payment channels, including cards, bank transfers, USSD, and direct bank account payments.
🇰🇷 KakaoBank prepares for Korean won stablecoin amid Upbit acquisition. According to a report, the digital bank is developing a smart contract-based FX settlement system, which is expected to power its upcoming stablecoin offering. It hinges its claim on several job boards, indicating that KakaoBank is recruiting developers for its newly minted blockchain service.
🇲🇽 OXXO’s Spin and Visa boost digital payments in Mexico. Spin by OXXO, backed by its network of over 24,000 convenience stores, offers users instant access to funds and secure transactions via its app. Keep reading
🇺🇸 Socure acquires Qlarifi. The combination establishes the industry’s first unified identity, anti-fraud, and BNPL credit infrastructure, building on the huge successes of Socure’s First Party Fraud Consortium. This enables consumers to build credit responsibly through BNPL repayment, reducing first-party fraud losses for lenders and merchants by up to 70%.
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