In the ceremony held in Seoul on February 4, 2008, China Unionpay (CUP) announced the official issuance of standard CUP credit card by Korea BC Cards Company and its 11 membership banks.  

Xu Luode, the president of CUP and Zheng Bingtai, the director of BC Cards Company both attended the card-issuing ceremony and delivered a speech respectively. Also present at the ceremony were Ning Fukui, the Chinese ambassador to Korea, high-rank personnel of Hana Bank and Woori Bank as well as leading officials of Bank of China Seoul Branch and ICBC Seoul Branch.

Currently, CUP has launched CUP bankcard services in 26 major countries and regions in Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Australia and Africa. As of today, over 30 organizations in countries and regions including Japan, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong and Macau have issued standard CUP cards. The issuance of standard CUP cards in Seoul symbolizes an important progress CUP has made as regard to its overseas operations, and CUP has proved to be a leading service provider not only in China, but also in a growing number of international bank card organizations throughout the world.

Sino-Korean trade and visit exchanges have been frequent in recent years. The year 2007 saw the total number of Korean visits to China reached about 5 million person-times. At present, Korean resident population in China registers nearly 1 million, of which over 60,000 are furthering their education in institutions of higher learning.

Like 1.5 billion CUP cards issued in China, CUP cards issued in Korea is now accepted not only in 740,000 merchants, 1.18 million POS terminals and 120,000 ATMs across China, but also in 26 countries and regions worldwide where CUP has launched its services, which provides ultimate payment convenience for Koreans either working or studying in China or frequently visiting China for business purposes.

In cooperation with BC Cards Company since 2005, CUP has realized the acceptance of CUP card in nearly 10, 000 merchants and 11, 000 ATMs in Korea. The issuing of standard CUP cards by BC Cards Company and its 11 membership banks symbolizes a new high CUP has made in its Korean operation. CUP and BC Cards Company will deepen their cooperation to provide a convenient, secure and efficient bank card payment service for trade and exchange visits between the two countries, as expressed by leaders from both sides.  

About BC Cards Company

Established in 1982, BC Cards Company is the largest credit card corporation in Korea. Its 11 membership banks include major Korean commercial banks, such as Hana Bank, Woori Bank and Kookmin Bank.