(Yicai Global) July 11 -- China UnionPay, the world’s most popular debit card provider, is teaming up with the Cambodian central bank to allow Cambodian citizens to make worldwide payments using UnionPay’s QR code payment network.

The tie-up will connect Cambodia’s digital currency Bakong with UnionPay’s mobile payment solutions, according to an announcement on Shanghai-based UnionPay’s website. This will enable people living in Cambodia to make payments using their Bakong Wallets by scanning UnionPay QR codes at local, Chinese and international stores.

UnionPay International, UnionPay’s unit in charge of its global business, will spearhead the interconnection of cross-border QR codes with the Central Bank of Cambodia, UnionPay said. The aim is for residents in both countries to be able to make payments in both directions and China's UnionPay users will also be linked with Cambodia’s own QR code network.

More than 90 percent of Cambodian retailers accept UnionPay cards, and large Cambodian banks such as ABA, ACLEDA and Cancada Bank have issued hundreds of thousands of UnionPay cards.

In similar link ups, UnionPay has already established close ties with QR code networks in South Korea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia.

More than 200 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 78 countries and regions, and these cards can be used at almost all ATM terminals and vendors' Point Of Sales in China.

Editor: Kim Taylor