The new partnership between Australian Tourism Export Council and National Australia Bank offers ATEC members a wide range of NAB products and tailored services to make them "China Ready".
CHINA – In the first banking agreement of its kind, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has announced details of a new partnership with National Australia Bank (NAB) which will help members become “China ready”.
The agreement will provide access to a wide range of NAB products and services tailored for ATEC members, as well as discounted merchant facilities, which are equipped with China UnionPay functionality.
NAB will also provide members with information sessions on how to become “China ready”, outlining ways to grow their business from the Chinese tourism market. With more than 800 members nationally, ATEC is the only industry body representing the inbound tourism sector in Australia.
With over 500,000 Chinese visitors to Australia each year, businesses are looking for ways to capitalise on this growing market, which is projected to increase by another 300,000 by 2020.
China UnionPay has 3.1 billion cards in circulation and ATEC Managing Director, Felicia Mariani said the ability for tourist operators to accept this card will help increase revenue from the Chinese market.
“China is Australia’s number one growth market worth over $3.2 billion annually, so it is important our industry is able to provide the kind of services Chinese visitors need – including access to banking facilities,” Ms Mariani said.
“With many Chinese travellers ranking shopping as a must-do activity when going overseas, it is clear they prioritise shopping as part of their trip. UnionPay gives these visitors the confidence to easily and securely access their spending money back home.”
Currently NAB is the only Australian bank who can accept China UnionPay cards on most EFTPOS and ATM terminals Australia wide.
NAB’s Executive General Manager, Working Capital Services, David Gall said: “NAB has been the only bank to offer this capability on our merchant terminals for the past 6 years. This alliance will not only increase awareness, but also the number of merchants accepting China UnionPay cards.
“We are committed to supporting Australia’s tourism industry and believe our relationship with China UnionPay, and our already well established facilities, are key differentiators to help ATEC members attract a growing number of Chinese visitors,” Mr Gall said.
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