Should a PSP in Europe accept JCB and UnionPay cards?
A PSP in Europe should offer JCB and UnionPay when its merchants serve travelers or sell cross-border to Asia. JCB reports 181.9 million cardmembers and UnionPay is accepted in 183 countries and regions. For hotels, luxury retail, airlines and tourist areas, these cards bring sales. For purely domestic merchants, the benefit is small.
In detail
It depends on the merchants. The decision is about customer mix, not about the networks’ size alone.
When it makes sense
- Tourism: hotels, restaurants, attractions and shops in areas visited by travelers from Japan, China and other Asian markets.
- Travel: airlines, rail and car rental with international customers.
- Luxury and duty-free retail: high average tickets from visiting shoppers.
- Cross-border e-commerce: merchants selling to customers who hold these cards as their main card.
What it involves
- Acquiring: not every acquirer supports JCB and UnionPay. Some reach them through network alliances.
- Technical work: each network has its own authentication, message and dispute requirements.
- Pricing: fees differ from Visa and Mastercard, and these cards are issued outside Europe, so EU interchange caps do not apply in the same way.
- Reporting: merchants need to see volume and cost per brand.
Offer these networks as an option that merchants activate when relevant. Measure demand with declined-brand data: attempts with cards the merchant does not accept show what is being lost.
See card networks for the comparison of the six global brands. A global payment network gives access to acquirers that support them, and scheme ready covers the technical requirements.