Via a local joint venture, partners with China UnionPay Network Payments to drive mobile engagement in China
Powa Technologies has formed a 10 year strategic alliance with “limitless” potential to create a ubiquitous new standard in mobile commerce for China UnionPay’s (CUP) 1.3 billion credit and debit card users.
International commerce technology specialist Powa has formed a joint venture to help retailers capture China’s online to offline (O2O) market, which the Chinese Department of Commerce has valued at CNY 304.94 billion as of first half 2015, and is growing 80% annually. The partnership will integrate UnionPay Network Payment’s mobile payment and point of sale solution with Powa’s mobile commerce platform, PowaTag.
The joint venture will first launch in Guangdong Province to give the region’s 106 million-strong population the ability to transact with 400,000 merchants, before expanding to all 6 million merchants across the country. By the end of 2016, 50 million Chinese consumers will have the ability to transact with one million merchants using PowaTag.
PowaTag UnionPay is a co-branded version of the PowaTag app with specifically designed for the Chinese market, and fully integrated with the UnionPay Network Payment’s point of sale and settlement network.
PowaTag is available on both iOS and Android platforms, does not depend on NFC-enabled point of sale systems, works with all China UnionPay debit and credit cards, and can be immediately deployed at any merchant who accepts China UnionPay cards.
Chairman of the joint venture, Mr. Hu, said: “Our platform is a project which operates together with UnionPay Network Payment. Our mobile internet products, O2O products and the POS system of China UnionPay connect together, speeding up integration and extending the capabilities of PowaTag. We have a target to reach at least 50 million consumers regularly using the platform within one year from launch.”
Dan Wagner, founder, chairman and CEO at Powa Technologies said: “PowaTag is an incredible channel to facilitate and simplify commerce for consumers and improve business for merchants. This partnership with UnionPay Network Payment will allow PowaTag to take a leading position in the mobile commerce and O2O market in China. The country already has the largest e-commerce market in the world, and we will play a key role in enabling millions of retailers to capture a market that is hungry for innovative new digital solutions.”
Alessandro Gadotti, CEO Asia-Pacific of Powa Technologies, added: “With this alliance, PowaTag will further extend its presence and strength in Asia Pacific, the fastest growing region in the world for mobile adoption, e-commerce and retail in general. Being a leader in such a challenging and fast growing region is proof that PowaTag’s technology is a breakthrough innovation in the commerce and retail space.”
