OREANDA-NEWS. August 11, 2008. Launching of China UnionPay (CUP) cards in Russia was the theme of a presentation held in Moscow, reported the press-centre of Evrofinance Mosnarbank.

Its participants included representatives of the Bank of Russia, CUP and Evrofinance Mosnarbank, Moscow, the first domestic bank which started issuing cards of the Chinese payment system: Mr. Vladimir Khrebtov, Director of the International Financial & Economic Relations Department of the Bank of Russia, Mr. Cai Jianbo, Executive Vice-President of China UnionPay and Mr. Sergey Yarosh, Senior Vice-President – Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Evrofinance Mosnarbank.

From this very day Evrofinance Mosnarbank will begin to issue standard debit card in Russian Roubles bearing the CUP logo with “62” as the first 2 digits of PAN. Besides the CUP logo, the cards also bear the logo of Union Card, one of the biggest local bankcard organizations in Russia, thus the cards can be used both in the local network of Union Card in Russia and in the global network of China UnionPay. The cards are classified as Classic, Gold and Platinum. Evrofinance Mosnarbank plans to issue ten thousand cards mainly to those businessmen and tourists who frequently visit China.

The presentation was opened by Mr. Vladimir Khrebtov, Director of the International Financial & Economic Relations Department of the Bank of Russia, who pointed out that a joint plastic card program launched by China UnionPay and Evrofinance Mosnarbank was a new evidence of more intensive business co-operation between Russian and Chinese credit institutions, widening of the spectrum of instruments used by the banks of both nations in their transactions.

The program offers an opportunity to thousands of potential customers to get assess to a convenient and efficient means of payment both in Russia and in the People’s Republic of China. Further bilateral co-operation in the field of payment systems and plastic card settlements is in full conformity with the strategic partnership between the two nations and get full encouragement from the Bank of Russian and the People’s Bank of China.

Mr. Cai Jianbo, Executive Vice-President of China UnionPay, stressed that his company attached great importance to Russian market. After launching CUP card acquiring business in Russia in 2007, CUP cards are now being successfully issued in Russia, which marks a new phase of more extensive and mature development of CUP business in Russia. Evrofinace Mosnarbank is one of the major commercial banks in Russia and does well in bankcard issuing. ‘We believe that CUP cards issuing business will be a great success in Russia and will bring Evrofinance Mosnarbank good profit by providing a more convenient payment means to the friendly exchange of the people of our two countries’, Cai Jianbo said.

  Mr. Sergey Yarosh, Senior Vice-President – Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Evrofinance Mosnarbank, underlined: ‘A unique nature of this project is that a plastic card of one of the largest Russian payment systems has been transformed into a fully-fledged international payment means.

From now on a Russian citizen, either a businessman or a tourist, leaving to China or to South East Asia will have yet another payment instrument with an extensive infrastructure used for servicing such plastic cards in the region. In the near future we will offer to the holders of the CUP cards issued by Evrofinance Mosnarbank new services which will make them feel homey while overseas.’