Chinese bank card provider banks on students studying abroad
Bank card provider says its payment services will 'expand to every aspect of their lives'
UnionPay, China's only domestic bank card provider, is banking on a new tuition fee service for mainland students studying abroad.
UnionPay International announced last week that 1,200 institutions abroad had agreed that Chinese students could use its bank card to pay tuition fees, including those for the most sought-after universities and high schools.
Cai Jianbo, chief executive of UnionPay International, the subsidiary focusing on overseas businesses, said the service was response to demands from the nation's leaders for greater business innovation.
"The use of UnionPay services by overseas Chinese students is helping us to promote our brand internationally," Cai said.
"When the students return after completing their studies abroad, they will form the backbone of China's campaign for greater innovation."
The card for foreign tuition fee payments was just part of its new services for overseas students, Cai said.
"We want to serve them and also grow with them," he said. "Our student payment services will expand to every aspect of their lives - including what they choose to eat, the clothing they buy, their accommodation and transport."