中国银联进军土耳其

There's good news for Chinese thinking of going to Turkey on their travels -- they will now be able to access their accounts through the establishment and growth of UnionPay in the country.  And Turkish people will be able to acquire a special UnionPay Dragon Card for their convenience.

Here, at this commercial Turkish bank, UnionPay is advertised more than even VISA and Mastercard.

Garanti Bank, established a cooperation with UnionPay ten years ago. The deal made Turkey one of the first European countries to adopt it before becoming omnipresent in major tourist cities, such as Istanbul.

"I can use UnionPay in most shopping malls here. It deals directly between Renminbi and Lira, without having to go through US dollars. And there is no transition fee," Unionapay card holder Ma Jiayao said.

And payments are not just limited to high-end or large purchases either. Crucially, the service is also available in the famous Grand Bazaar market, and even for the small, evil-eye souvenirs. For dealers, Chinese tourists are people they can't afford to turn away.

"In fact, European people buy one or two pieces, Chinese people buy five or six. I make good money with Chinese people," Shop owner Unal said.

To bring even more convenience for tourists, UnionPay is also available at some local ATMs too, though there's still a shortage of them.

So there's plenty of convience. There's also good news for Turks, with the creation of a special UnionPay Dragon Card. It will also be the first UnionPay card issued in Turkey, and it's a business card.

"Today, more than 5,000 small and medium companies doing trade with China. We did a survey with these companies, they need this card, they are waiting to buy this card," Turkish Garanti Bank vice president Ozgur Altan said.
 
UnionPay is now available in over 150 countries and regions. The state-owned company wants to be part of the government's global ambition.

"Turkey is a very important country along the Silk Road. As China's One Belt-One Road initiative is pushed forward, and China-Turkey trade and people-to-people exchanges become more prevalent, we believe our business will expand with more efficiency in Turkey, and with countries along the Belt and Road," Unionpan Middle East Branch general manger Wang Han said.
 
More ambitious plans between UnionPay and its partners, now and in the future.