中國(guó)銀聯(lián)與國(guó)際對(duì)手展開全球較量

For Myanmar’s first generation of bank customers, there is little difference between a Visa card and one from China’s state-controlled card-payment monopoly, UnionPay.

對(duì)緬甸的第一代銀行客戶而言，一張Visa卡與一張銀聯(lián)卡幾乎沒什么區(qū)別，后者由中國(guó)國(guó)有控股的銀行卡支付壟斷企業(yè)中國(guó)銀聯(lián)(UnionPay)發(fā)行。

With only 2 per cent of the Southeast Asian nation’s 53m people carrying plastic in their wallets, UnionPay’s rapid push into the frontier market will make its red, blue and green logo one of the first that Burmese youth see when opening an account or applying for a credit card at a local bank.

在這個(gè)人口5300萬(wàn)的東南亞國(guó)家，只有2%的人錢包里有銀行卡，中國(guó)銀聯(lián)在這一前沿市場(chǎng)的快速推進(jìn)，將使其紅、藍(lán)、綠三色標(biāo)識(shí)成為在當(dāng)?shù)劂y行開戶或申請(qǐng)信用卡的緬甸年輕人首先看到的公司標(biāo)識(shí)之一。

Myanmar is ground zero for the group’s attempt to steal global market share from companies such as Visa and MasterCard. The same goes for countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and even the Democratic Republic of Congo — all spots where local banks have started issuing the Chinese company’s cards to an increasing cohort of non-Chinese customers.

緬甸是中國(guó)銀聯(lián)嘗試從Visa、萬(wàn)事達(dá)(MasterCard)等信用卡公司手中爭(zhēng)奪全球市場(chǎng)份額的起點(diǎn)。中國(guó)銀聯(lián)同時(shí)進(jìn)軍的國(guó)家還包括印度尼西亞、馬來(lái)西亞、哈薩克斯坦，甚至剛果民主共和國(guó)——在這些國(guó)家，當(dāng)?shù)劂y行已經(jīng)開始向越來(lái)越多的非中國(guó)籍客戶發(fā)放銀聯(lián)卡。

“For many people in emerging markets, this will be the first card they come in contact with,” said Neil Katkov, senior vice-president at finance consultant Celent in Tokyo. “That’s a big shift from when Visa and MasterCard were the only game in town.”

“對(duì)新興市場(chǎng)的許多人來(lái)說(shuō)，這將是他們接觸的第一張卡，”金融咨詢公司Celent在東京的高級(jí)副總裁內(nèi)爾•卡特科夫(Neil Katkov)表示，“相比那個(gè)只有Visa和萬(wàn)事達(dá)兩家的時(shí)代，這是一個(gè)巨大轉(zhuǎn)變。”

In just 15 years, UnionPay has become the largest bank cards group in the world by value of card transactions, taking a 37 per cent chunk of the $21.6tn global payments market in 2015, according to a report from London-based payments consultant RBR.

總部位于倫敦的支付咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)RBR的一份報(bào)告顯示，按卡交易價(jià)值計(jì)算，中國(guó)銀聯(lián)在短短15年間已成長(zhǎng)為全球最大銀行卡組織，在2015年全球21.6萬(wàn)億美元的支付市場(chǎng)中占比高達(dá)37%。

But the company’s grip on the market is based almost entirely on China, where its status as a de facto monopoly has drawn the country into a years-long clash with the World Trade Organisation.

但中國(guó)銀聯(lián)的市場(chǎng)份額幾乎完全是在中國(guó)境內(nèi)，該公司在本國(guó)事實(shí)上的壟斷地位使得中國(guó)與世界貿(mào)易組織(WTO)多年陷于沖突。

Excluding its business in China, UnionPay claims just 0.5 per cent of the global market, compared with Visa’s 50 per cent and MasterCard’s 31 per cent.

扣除在中國(guó)的業(yè)務(wù)，中國(guó)銀聯(lián)在全球市場(chǎng)僅占0.5%，相比之下，Visa和萬(wàn)事達(dá)分別占50%和31%。

Experts watching the group say it has a clear government mandate to take on Visa and MasterCard outside China.

關(guān)注銀聯(lián)的專家表示，銀聯(lián)明顯是接到了中國(guó)政府的授意，要在中國(guó)境外與Visa和萬(wàn)事達(dá)進(jìn)行角逐。

“This is an effort to expand China’s financial influence globally,” said Simon Lee, an assistant dean at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School. “The recognition of Chinese brands, especially in finance, is very low abroad. Companies like this are trying to change that.”

“此舉是在全球擴(kuò)大中國(guó)金融影響力的努力，”香港中文大學(xué)(Chinese University of Hong Kong)商學(xué)院助理院長(zhǎng)李兆波(Simon Lee)說(shuō)，“國(guó)外對(duì)中國(guó)品牌的認(rèn)可度很低，特別是在金融領(lǐng)域。銀聯(lián)等公司正試圖改變這種狀況。”

UnionPay declined to comment and MasterCard would not discuss the Chinese rival’s strategy. Visa did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

銀聯(lián)拒絕置評(píng)，萬(wàn)事達(dá)不愿討論這家中國(guó)對(duì)手的戰(zhàn)略。Visa未回應(yīng)有關(guān)此事的置評(píng)請(qǐng)求。

UnionPay’s first rollout into global markets saw it chasing after newly rich Chinese tourists armed for the first time with credit cards. Luxury shops in Europe such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry were among the first merchants to accept the cards in western countries, hoping to attract the burgeoning wealth of independent Chinese travellers.

在對(duì)全球市場(chǎng)的第一輪擴(kuò)張中，銀聯(lián)追隨那些身上首次帶著信用卡、新近富裕起來(lái)的中國(guó)游客的腳步。路易威登(Louis Vuitton)和博柏利(Burberry)等歐洲奢侈品店是西方國(guó)家中首批接受這種信用卡的商家，它們希望把中國(guó)獨(dú)立游客迅速增長(zhǎng)的財(cái)富吸引過(guò)來(lái)。

The group’s payment terminals are now ubiquitous and more than 41m merchants in 160 countries accept the cards, the company says, making it one of the most widely accepted payment providers.

銀聯(lián)表示，如今該集團(tuán)的支付終端隨處可見，160個(gè)國(guó)家逾4100萬(wàn)商家接受這種信用卡，令銀聯(lián)成為獲得最廣泛接受的支付提供商之一。

Since launching UnionPay in 2002 with a consortium of state-owned banks, China’s central bank has blocked the domestic expansion of Visa and MasterCard and granted the Chinese company free rein over one of the world’s largest payments markets.

自2002年批準(zhǔn)由多家國(guó)有銀行聯(lián)手成立銀聯(lián)以來(lái)，中國(guó)央行阻止了Visa和萬(wàn)事達(dá)在境內(nèi)的擴(kuò)張，實(shí)際上讓銀聯(lián)獨(dú)享世界最大支付市場(chǎng)之一。

In 2012, the World Trade Organisation ruled that China had unfairly discriminated against foreign payment companies, a major victory for the US, which brought the complaint. Since then, Chinese regulators have dragged their feet on opening the market, only recently announcing they would allow foreign players to establish their own payment clearing businesses this year.

2012年，世貿(mào)組織曾裁定中國(guó)不公平地歧視境外支付企業(yè)，這是提出申訴的美國(guó)的重大勝利。自那以來(lái)，中國(guó)監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)在開放市場(chǎng)方面行動(dòng)遲緩，直到最近才宣布今年會(huì)允許外國(guó)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者建立自己的支付結(jié)算業(yè)務(wù)。

“Increasingly, China UnionPay is competing on a global scale. They will need to play along with the global rules,” said Alfred Shang, a financial services partner at Bain & Co in Beijing, who has advised multinational payment companies on their China strategy. “They are trying to strike reciprocal rules with other payment networks around the world, so they need to be seen as playing by the rules.”

貝恩公司(Bain & Co)在北京的金融服務(wù)業(yè)合伙人、曾為跨國(guó)支付企業(yè)提供中國(guó)戰(zhàn)略方面的咨詢的項(xiàng)安達(dá)(Alfred Shang)表示：“中國(guó)銀聯(lián)正越來(lái)越多地在全球?qū)用骈_展競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。他們將需要尊重全球的游戲規(guī)則。他們正試圖與全球其他支付網(wǎng)絡(luò)達(dá)成互惠規(guī)則，因此他們需要被視為遵守游戲規(guī)則。”

UnionPay’s global ambitions are not restricted to developing countries such as Myanmar.

中國(guó)銀聯(lián)的全球雄心并不限于緬甸等發(fā)展中國(guó)家。

In a span of just five years, the company says more than 68m UnionPay cards have been issued in 40 different foreign countries, including advanced economies such as Singapore and Japan. In Russia, UnionPay is tipped to link up directly with the country’s payments system as the authorities seek ways to reduce the impact of possible future western sanctions.

中國(guó)銀聯(lián)表示，在短短五年里，該公司在40個(gè)境外國(guó)家發(fā)行逾6800萬(wàn)張銀聯(lián)卡，其中包括新加坡和日本等發(fā)達(dá)經(jīng)濟(jì)體。在俄羅斯，由于當(dāng)局正在想辦法降低西方未來(lái)可能制裁的影響，中國(guó)銀聯(lián)據(jù)悉與該國(guó)支付系統(tǒng)直接聯(lián)通。

Despite enjoying the direct backing of the Chinese government and the luxury of a captive home market, UnionPay’s global battle will not be won easily.

盡管得到了中國(guó)政府直接支持，迄今又基本上獨(dú)享本土市場(chǎng)，但中國(guó)銀聯(lián)的全球競(jìng)爭(zhēng)不會(huì)贏得太容易。

New technology and the availability of better data are changing how the global payments market operates, and new entrants such as UnionPay will have to provide something new in terms of pricing, service, technology or scale, Mr Shang said.

項(xiàng)安達(dá)表示，新技術(shù)和可獲得數(shù)據(jù)質(zhì)量的改善正在改變?nèi)蛑Ц妒袌?chǎng)的運(yùn)營(yíng)方式，銀聯(lián)之類的新入場(chǎng)者將不得不在定價(jià)、服務(wù)、技術(shù)或規(guī)模方面提供一些新的東西。

“UnionPay’s global expansion comes at a time when the entire market is ripe for disruption, so they need to consider their business model carefully,” Mr Shang said. “If they just play a ‘me-too strategy’ with Visa and MasterCard, there’s really no point.”

項(xiàng)安達(dá)表示：“銀聯(lián)的全球擴(kuò)張正趕上整個(gè)市場(chǎng)重新洗牌時(shí)機(jī)成熟之際，因此他們需要仔細(xì)考慮自己的商業(yè)模式。如果他們只是與Visa和萬(wàn)事達(dá)玩‘我也能做到’這種戰(zhàn)略，那真的沒什么意義。”