Countdown’s 181 supermarkets throughout New Zealand can now accept UnionPay cards, the major payment method for Chinese tourists, which are now accepted in 170 countries and regions across the globe.
This collaboration sees Countdown become the first supermarket chain in New Zealand to accept UnionPay payment options (prepaid, debit and credit cards) as well as UnionPay QuickPass — UnionPay’s contactless payment service available with UnionPay chip cards, mobile phones and wearable devices.
The partnership will mean that UnionPay cardholders, tourists, students and residents in New Zealand can conveniently pay for their groceries in store. Customers who prefer mobile payment can also easily tap-and-go with their UnionPay chip cards and QuickPass-enabled mobile phones.
In the first eight months of 2018, transactions using UnionPay QuickPass in New Zealand grew by about 190% versus the year prior. Purchases are directly deducted from UnionPay cardholders’ RMB accounts in Chinese Yuan without any currency conversion fees.
Countdown’s General Manager Operations, Brett Ashley, says “Countdown stores across the country welcome a diverse range of customers through our doors every day, and this includes the growing number of tourists from China. We want to make it easy for people visiting New Zealand to shop with us, and partnering with UnionPay is one way we know we can make customers feel even more welcome in our stores.”
General Manager of UnionPay International South Pacific, James Yang, says “UnionPay is pleased to be in partnership with Countdown as it allows us to further enhance our customer services to UnionPay cardholders in South Pacific region, and make it easy for people from China as well as other 48 countries and regions when they’re visiting New Zealand”.
