NAIROBI - Kenya's Equity Bank has signed up with the China UnionPay to allow its customers in Kenya and throughout East Africa to make transactions from Equity's ATMs and Points of Sale.

China UnionPay cards will be accepted at Equity Bank's 700 ATMs, 5,000 Points of Sale and over 1,000 merchant outlets worldwide, offering the Union's customers a convenient and wider network.

Equally, Equity Bank customers on VISA will be able to access their accounts from China UnionPay's ATMs and POS all around the world, making it easy and convenient for Kenya's business community that imports goods from China to transact business.

"With the signing up of the new deal, Equity becomes China UnionPay's sole agent in East Africa, and is the third bank in the continent to sign up the service after South Africa and Mauritius," Equity Bank said in a statement received on Wednesday.

China UnionPay has issued over 2.3 billion cards globally, offering a wide market for its partners. Last year alone, it recorded over 1 trillion transactions globally.

Kenya has also been keen to have close ties with China which has become a major global economic partner.

The Chinese population in East Africa has been growing steadily over the years, with China's massive investments in infrastructure development, energy, oil and mineral exploration. Kenya's bilateral relationship with China has also been boosted recently as the country positions itself as a major Chinese tourist destination.

It is estimated that 20,000 Chinese tourists visit Kenya every year with the figure expected to rise to at least 100,000 per year in the next three years.

Earlier this year, Equity Bank signed a $50 million loan in support of the SME sector in Kenya with the China Development Bank, offering the cheapest source of funding for the sector in the country.

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Equity Bank recently acquired an online Card Management System known as Way 4 System from OpenWay Group, designed for multi- institution and multi-currency transaction processing, and has the ability to handle over 60 million cards with speed performance of 180,000 transactions per minute.

The system which received the highest possible rating by Gartner, the top organization for rating software in the world, also provides support for non-card based transactions over multiple self service channels, and also transacts different currencies. Equity Bank customers can use their cards at all Equity Bank terminals within the region.

Equity Bank is the first Bank in East Africa to comply with all PCI/DSS and EMV standards.

Equity Bank's CEO Dr James Mwangi is attending the 2010 World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, that runs from Sept 13-15.

Mwangi is also set to meet the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, during a CEOs Private Meeting at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, in an Annual Meeting of the New Champions.

The meeting aims to address among other issues: improving competitiveness through science and technology, creating new value from business models and for future markets, achieving economic and social change through sustainability and designing effective global, industry and regional solutions.

The meeting presents an unparalleled opportunity for business leaders from major multinationals and high-growth companies and Technology Pioneers from industrialized, emerging and frontier markets to meet informally as peers.

The 2010 meeting expects to bring together over 1,500 participants that consist of 400 Global Growth Companies, 300 CEOs, CTOs, chief economists and corporate strategists from the Forum's Members together with up-and-coming leaders from business, politics, science and technology from over 80 countries.

Global Growth Companies are businesses demonstrating the potential to become leaders in the global economy based on their growth record, business models and industry leadership.