A new Internet shopping mall is opening in China next month that will take payments using the widely circulating China UnionPay Co (中國銀聯) cards for Japanese products, company officials said yesterday.
The e-shopping site “Buy-J.com” will sell gadgets, clothing and cosmetics from about 100 Japanese companies, aiming at ¥4 billion (US$44 million) in sales in the first year, said Ryuichi Kobayashi, spokesman for Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co, a credit card company that has tied up with China UnionPay.
It would be the first deal of its kind that allows settlements with the Chinese cards, and hopes to cash in on growing interest in Japanese electronics goods, fashion and food among Chinese consumers, Kobayashi said.
Some 1.8 billion UnionPay cards — which include both credit and debit functions — have been issued in China and are far more plentiful than credit cards like Visa.
Among those considering opening shop at Buy-J.com are retailer Yodobashi Camera Co, drugstore chain Matsumoto Kiyoshi Co, clothing maker Narumiya International Co and mail-order company Cecile Co, Kobayashi said.
Chinese will be able to buy products through the Net and pay with the cards to have the products shipped to them, said Shota Ko of SBI VeriTrans Co, a Tokyo-based e-commerce company, which will run the site.
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