Visa and UnionPay Forge Historic Alliance to Open China's Payment Market

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 03, 2026 – In a landmark move set to reshape the global payments landscape, Visa and UnionPay International (UPI) have announced a strategic agreement to integrate their networks, creating a powerful new channel for money movement into Chinese Mainland. The partnership, unveiled at Web Summit Qatar, will connect Visa’s global Visa Direct platform with UPI’s vast domestic network, enabling cross-border payments to over 95 percent of UnionPay debit cardholders across China.

Once fully operational in the first half of 2026, this collaboration will provide a more seamless, secure, and transparent pathway for remittances and business-to-consumer payouts into one of the world's most significant and complex markets. The deal represents a critical piece of financial infrastructure, bridging the gap between global senders and billions of Chinese consumers.

“Global business now moves at internet speed, but money hasn’t always kept pace,” said Vira Platonova, Global Head of Visa Direct, in a statement. “By expanding Visa Direct’s reach through UnionPay International, we’re shrinking the world again – not through tests or theory, but through real, critical infrastructure operating at massive scale, speed and reliability.”

A New Digital Bridge to a Massive Market

The strategic importance of this alliance cannot be overstated. China stands as the third-largest recipient of remittances globally, with inbound flows estimated at over US$51 billion in 2023 and projected to climb past US$63 billion by 2028. These funds are a vital economic lifeline, supporting families, boosting local consumption, and enabling small-scale investment. However, sending money into the country has historically been a fragmented and often cumbersome process.

This partnership aims to directly address these challenges. By leveraging UPI's MoneyExpress platform, Visa Direct will allow individuals and businesses worldwide to send funds directly to UnionPay debit cards. This bypasses many of the traditional correspondent banking layers that can introduce delays, high costs, and a lack of transparency. The move aligns with a broader market trend toward digitalization, with mobile payments expected to account for over 70% of all remittance transactions in China by 2025.

“This cooperation with Visa represents a precise alignment of the two sides’ strengths and is also an active response to the digitalization and convenience trends in global cross‑border remittances,” stated Larry Wang, CEO of UnionPay International. He noted the deal will allow more overseas users to enjoy “low‑cost, high‑efficiency, and trustworthy” services.

The Power of Two Giants: Strategy and Scale

This agreement brings together two titans of the payment industry, each with a dominant position in its respective sphere. UnionPay has rapidly grown to become the world's leading provider of debit cards, capturing over 40% of global debit transaction volume in 2022 and surpassing Visa for the first time. Its network is ubiquitous within Chinese Mainland, making it the indispensable partner for achieving true market reach.

For Visa, the deal is a cornerstone of its strategy to expand beyond traditional card-based purchases and become a fundamental network for all forms of money movement. Visa Direct has been aggressively expanding its global footprint, establishing connections in over 195 countries. Penetrating the highly regulated Chinese market, however, represents a new level of achievement. This is not a consumer-facing app, but a foundational infrastructure play designed to power countless other financial services and platforms.

The collaboration will support a wide array of payment needs in an increasingly borderless economy. This includes payouts for freelance creators and remote contractors, expense reimbursements for global corporations, and, most critically, family remittances that connect the Chinese diaspora with their relatives back home. As platforms and marketplaces operate globally, the ability to reliably send funds to China in near real-time becomes a competitive necessity.

Navigating a Complex Financial Landscape

The path to this agreement was paved through one of the world's most intricate regulatory environments. China's financial system is characterized by strict capital controls and rigorous oversight from the People's Bank of China (PBOC). For instance, regulations require banks and payment platforms to conduct comprehensive reviews of any overseas remittance exceeding just $1,000, creating significant compliance burdens.

Successfully navigating these requirements is a major victory for both companies and helps explain the projected 2026 launch date, which allows ample time for testing, phased deployment, and ensuring full compliance. The partnership offers a stark contrast to other payment methods. While fintechs like Wise and Remitly have built digital-first models, and domestic giants like Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate internal payments, the Visa-UPI deal creates a unique card-to-card network that operates at an unprecedented scale.

This new payment rail will also exist alongside China's own ambitious central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-CNY or digital yuan. While the e-CNY is being tested for cross-border transactions, the Visa-UPI partnership focuses on integrating and modernizing the existing financial infrastructure, ensuring that today's global payment systems can effectively serve the Chinese market for years to come.

The Human and Economic Impact

Beyond the corporate strategy and market statistics lies the profound human impact of this initiative. For millions of people, the difference between waiting days for a wire transfer to clear and receiving funds on a debit card in minutes is life-changing. It means being able to pay for an urgent medical bill, cover school fees on time, or manage household cash flow without the stress of uncertainty.

Freelancers and gig economy workers based in China will be able to receive payments from international clients with greater speed and predictability, fostering their participation in the global digital economy. For businesses, the streamlined process reduces administrative friction and improves relationships with Chinese partners and employees.

“Whether it’s a creator getting paid, a contractor receiving earnings or a family sending support across borders, reach and reassurance are everything,” Platonova added. By connecting its global network to the last mile of China's payment system, Visa aims to bring that trust to life at a scale where it matters most, promising a future where financial borders are no longer barriers to progress.