In 23 Years, China UnionPay Card Expands to 180 Countries and Now Aims for Official Expansion in Brazil

Written by Maria Heloisa Barbosa Borges

Published on 05/08/2025 at 20:25

Avanço da UnionPay no Brasil expõe tensão entre expansão chinesa e barreiras regulatórias nacionais

618 people reacted to this.

State Flag Is Already Accepted at Tourist Spots and Awaits Authorization for Card Issuance in the Country

The UnionPay is a payment card brand founded in 2002 by the Chinese government, with a global presence in more than 180 countries. In recent years, the brand has begun to gain ground in Brazil, especially in establishments that cater to foreign tourists. According to a report from Estadão, the company is preparing to operate more broadly in the country, through a partnership with the Brazilian fintech LEFT, responsible for issuing and integrating with the national financial system.

Today, international UnionPay cards are already accepted in commercial networks in cities like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Foz do Iguaçu, Manaus, and Salvador. The brand also supports withdrawals and inquiries at Banco Itaú ATMs and in the Saque e Pague network, in addition to being processed by terminals of acquirers Rede and Stone.

Current Presence and Next Steps in Brazil

According to information released by the GGN website, LEFT will be the partner responsible for facilitating the formal entry of UnionPay into the Brazilian market. This includes not only acceptance but also card issuance in the country. Despite the announcement, neither the fintech nor UnionPay responded to requests for official confirmation.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Can China Control Brazilian Operations?

For analysts like Alexandre Chaia (Insper) and Myrian Lund (FGV), the risk of external control of transactions is nonexistent. This is because all companies in the sector must follow the same rules and report to the Central Bank, including the submission of documents, financial information, and electronic data.

Brazilian legislation requires that any card brand operating in the country have a legal representative within the national territory and submit to audits and inspections. Failure to meet these requirements will subject the company to sanctions.

Potential and Limitations of UnionPay in Brazil

Although it already has a broad international acceptance network, UnionPay is still little known among Brazilian consumers. The formal entry into the national market could increase competition in the payment sector and offer alternatives to merchants and customers, especially in operations with Asian tourists.

On the other hand, the issuance of cards for the local public will depend on authorization and regulation. Until then, usage will remain restricted to transactions with cards issued abroad.

What do you think, do you believe that the arrival of UnionPay may increase competition and benefit the Brazilian consumer? Or do you think that the entry of a new brand in the market will bring more challenges than advantages? Share your opinion in the comments.

201 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

Pedro Olmedo

#185320

24/10/2025 11:48

Será que essa fintech recebe pix com segurança?
Mão na roda pra compras e recebimentos!

Respond

Aline Novaes Prado de Abreu

#157085

11/08/2025 12:21

Aguardo ansiosamente a nova bandeira para migrar imediatamente.

Respond

Airton Souza Matthes

#157063

11/08/2025 11:04

Com certeza usaria, chega de ser escravo dos Cartões dos USA.

Respond

In 23 Years, China UnionPay Card Expands to 180 Countries and Now Aims for Official Expansion in Brazil

State Flag Is Already Accepted at Tourist Spots and Awaits Authorization for Card Issuance in the Country

Current Presence and Next Steps in Brazil

Can China Control Brazilian Operations?

Potential and Limitations of UnionPay in Brazil

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

Under nearly 2 kilometers of ice in Antarctica, scientists have discovered an ancient landscape sculpted by rivers up to 60 million years ago, the size of Wales, preserved as a time capsule that could help predict the advance of ice towards the ocean.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

SpaceX will dock a $843 million vehicle to the International Space Station to push a nearly 420-ton laboratory against the atmosphere and make the debris fall in a controlled manner into the ocean.

For the economist José Kobori, the USA gained a trump card to “blackmail” Brazil and undermine China’s influence by classifying the PCC and Comando Vermelho as terrorists, increasing the power to pressure companies, banks, and even Pix.

BYD Atto 2 DM-i flex prepares to debut in Brazil with a plug-in hybrid engine, national assembly in Camaçari, competitive pricing, and targets Creta and T-Cross in a battle that promises to heat up the compact SUV market.

Processors can become 1,000 times faster with a new device that uses light pulses, operates in 40 picoseconds, and reduces the heat that stalls data centers.

Noise in the sky frightened residents: NASA confirms that a meteor exploded over New England with a force equivalent to 230 tons of TNT

The paycheck that seemed impossible: São José employee receives R$ 7.94 after legal strike, while deductions by the City Hall affect over a thousand employees and become a target of inquiry in the City Council.

In 23 Years, China UnionPay Card Expands to 180 Countries and Now Aims for Official Expansion in Brazil

State Flag Is Already Accepted at Tourist Spots and Awaits Authorization for Card Issuance in the Country

Current Presence and Next Steps in Brazil

Can China Control Brazilian Operations?

Potential and Limitations of UnionPay in Brazil

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

Under nearly 2 kilometers of ice in Antarctica, scientists have discovered an ancient landscape sculpted by rivers up to 60 million years ago, the size of Wales, preserved as a time capsule that could help predict the advance of ice towards the ocean.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

SpaceX will dock a $843 million vehicle to the International Space Station to push a nearly 420-ton laboratory against the atmosphere and make the debris fall in a controlled manner into the ocean.

For the economist José Kobori, the USA gained a trump card to “blackmail” Brazil and undermine China’s influence by classifying the PCC and Comando Vermelho as terrorists, increasing the power to pressure companies, banks, and even Pix.

The labor shortage has changed its face in Brazil: companies hire 80% more, but workers stay only 6.8 months in the job, the service market becomes a “revolving door,” and businesses spend increasingly more to train teams that soon leave.

Chinese giant chooses SC to set up its first factory in Brazil, investing R$ 250 million and producing MRI machines costing R$ 10 million each, with 100 direct jobs and 5% of revenue allocated to research.

After selling a unit for R$ 115 million to pay off debts, a traditional factory in SC founded in 1932 has a new R$ 64.8 million plan denied by the court and retains about 690 workers in Joinville.

Use of slimming pens skyrockets in Brazil, surpasses the global average, and causes unexpected changes in consumption habits, diet, beauty, and the wellness market.

For the economist José Kobori, the USA gained a trump card to “blackmail” Brazil and undermine China’s influence by classifying the PCC and Comando Vermelho as terrorists, increasing the power to pressure companies, banks, and even Pix.

BYD Atto 2 DM-i flex prepares to debut in Brazil with a plug-in hybrid engine, national assembly in Camaçari, competitive pricing, and targets Creta and T-Cross in a battle that promises to heat up the compact SUV market.

Processors can become 1,000 times faster with a new device that uses light pulses, operates in 40 picoseconds, and reduces the heat that stalls data centers.

Noise in the sky frightened residents: NASA confirms that a meteor exploded over New England with a force equivalent to 230 tons of TNT

The paycheck that seemed impossible: São José employee receives R$ 7.94 after legal strike, while deductions by the City Hall affect over a thousand employees and become a target of inquiry in the City Council.