Sampath Bank payment gateway now accepts UnionPay cards

Sampath Bank Assistant General Manager – Card Centre Darshin Pathinayake (third from left) exchanging the MoU with UnionPay International Country Manager – Sri Lanka and Maldives Crispin Wijesekera. Also present from left: Sampath Bank Manager – Card Promotions, Loyalty and Product Strategy – Card Centre Chirath Samarasekara, Sampath Bank Manager – Card Portfolio, Sales and Merchant Relationships – Card Centre Buddhika Amunugama and UnionPay International Head of Products and Business Development Sri Lanka and Maldives Benzy Fernando

Sampath Bank announced that the Sampath Bank Payment Gateway, the only online solution which provides the most cost-effective and secure payment authorisation and processing service, now accepts UnionPay credit and debit cards. This new development in the e-commerce industry of Sri Lanka will further empower merchant websites and consumers alike, with a wider range of customer experiences.

UnionPay International (UPI) focuses on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business. In partnership with more than 2,400 institutions worldwide, UPI has enabled card acceptance in 180 countries and regions with issuance in 70 countries and regions. UPI provides high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world’s largest cardholder base, and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants.

As a result, the acceptance of UnionPay cards will benefit many merchants who transact online through Sampath Bank’s services.

“As a key financial intermediary, with thousands of merchants depending on our services to keep their e-commerce operations running, the acceptance of UnionPay cards through our portal will further enhance the service experience of both our merchants and their customers. As Sampath Bank boasts a high penetration in the e-commerce industry, developments such as these are in line with our mission to connect the merchant and consumer across many avenues, enabling them to transact with greater ease,” said Sampath Bank PLC Assistant General Manager – Card Centre Darshin Pathinayake.

“UnionPay is honored to cooperate with Sampath Bank, and we are confident that Sampath Bank will open up new doors for Sri Lankan merchants who wish to partake in e-commerce activities. This partnership will benefit us both. UPI’s presence in Sri Lanka will become even more diversified, and our large number of global cardholders will bring more business to local merchants,” said UnionPay International, Hong Kong branch General Manager Michelle Shao.

The acceptance of UnionPay cards through the Sampath Payment Gateway addresses the need of the hour as the number of customers who use UnionPay cards keep on increasing due to the growing number of Chinese expatriates in Sri Lanka as well as Sri Lankans who obtain the UnionPay card from local issuers. 

As the current market conditions in Sri Lanka are favorable for an eCommerce-based business, both merchants and sellers will be elated to know that Sampath Bank has developed a competitive pricing strategy for this offering. 

This development also opens up new avenues for businesses in Sri Lanka to sell their products to online buyers in China. Chinese consumers will now be able to purchase sought after Sri Lankan products that include spices, tea and gems online from their home country, using their very own UnionPay card. Additionally, entrepreneurs and SME’s will also be able to tap into the vast market that is China.

Sampath Bank Payment Gateway’s acceptance of another international card brand means that merchants in Sri Lanka will become more familiar with UnionPay as it gets rolled out across multiple platforms island-wide.