Planet Payment, the AIM-listed multi-currency payment processor, on Monday announced that it is allowing e-commerce merchants in the US and Canada to accept UnionPay cards, one of the largest card brands in the world.

With over 3.5bn UnionPay cards issued globally and the majority of Chinese consumers carrying these cards, Planet Payment said that merchants need the ability to accept these payments on their websites.

"Planet Payment's solution does just that, by enabling merchants to participate in UPOP - UnionPay's program to authenticate and process UnionPay cards online. UPOP allows merchants to more effectively tap into what is projected to be the world's largest ecommerce market by 2015," the company said in a statement.

UPOP has now been integrated into the company's payment gateway solution 'iPay' and will be added to its 'Shop in Your Currency' service.

"UnionPay is a significant addition to our e-commerce product set," said Philip Beck, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Planet Payment.

"We believe that our UPOP solution is an important tool for merchants seeking to sell more products and services to the strategically significant Chinese ecommerce market."

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