China UnionPay card transactions in Taiwan up 40% in 2013

TAIPEI – China’s State-owned China News Service has reported that China UnionPay Card recorded a near 40% increase in transactions in Taiwan in 2013 as the number of Chinese visitors continued to climb.

Card use (UnionPay is the only Chinese credit card in China) was boosted by an increasing number of Chinese tourists travelling outside  tour groups, and by -up cooperation between Taiwan and China, the report said.

China's National Tourism Administration figures showed that 2.92 million Chinese visitors came to Taiwan in 2013, up 1% on-year.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications said the number of independent Chinese tourists has also grown dramatically since first allowed in mid-2011. Taiwan saw 190,000 independent visitors from China in 2012, but there were 520,000 last year (ATI).