Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL), a leading commercial bank in Nepal, and UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business, have together launched the HBL-UnionPay International Prepaid Card. Through this launch, the Bank will issue for the first time ever UnionPay branded USD Prepaid cards to Nepalese citizens with travel needs to China and beyond. The HBL-UnionPay international prepaid cards can be used for a variety of purposes from business, education, sight-seeing to medical treatment etc. In fact, any merchant in China who is equipped with a point-of-sale terminal will accept UnionPay. Furthermore, HBL-UnionPay pre-paid card holders will enjoy more than 1000 offers and specially curated experiences in more than 18 countries covering shopping, dining, entertainment and more.

“Today’s launch of UnionPay’s prepaid card is a very important milestone in establishing more effective and secure cross boarder payment services to China and other countries” said Ashoke SJB Rana,CEO of Himalayan Bank Ltd. in the  launch ceremony.

David Lee, Chief Cooperation Officer of UnionPay International said “UnionPay is committed to bring secure, convenient and innovative solutions to partners, merchants and cardholders. The collaboration between UnionPay and HBL is a testament of the collaborative approach adopted by UnionPay to bring innovative products to meet market needs”. 

HBL and Unionpay had entered into the partnership of acquiring UnionPay branded cards in September 2012. The launch of the HBL-UnionPay, International Pre-paid card is another step in the collaboration. As a special launch, HBL is offering all applicants “Free subscription for a limited time period.”

About Himalayan Bank Limited

Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) is a leading private sector commercial bank incorporated in 1993. HBL stands ahead in meeting customer demands through its continuous effort of tying banking products with world class technology. It is the first Bank in the country to introduce HBL Proprietary Credit Card, start international credit card issuance, acquiring business and ATM service. Moreover, it is the pioneer financial institution to start acquiring and issuance business of chip based EMV Compliant Plastic Cards in the country. At present, total customer base of HBL is above 400,000 individuals & institutions out of which more than 189,000 are availing card services.

About UnionPay

UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business. UnionPay International has partnerships with over 300 organizations worldwide and has enabled card acceptance in over 140 countries and issuing in more than 30 countries. UnionPay International provides high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world’s largest cardholder base and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants.