Malaysia Airlines and UnionPay International Ink Strategic Partnership to Elevate Cross‑Border Travel Payments and Experiences

Malaysia Airlines and UnionPay International Ink Strategic Partnership to Elevate Cross‑Border Travel Payments and Experiences

Malaysia Airlines and UnionPay enhance cross-border travel with RMB payments, data insights, and joint campaigns.

Collaboration integrates UnionPay International’s payments across Malaysia Airlines channels, launches joint marketing and data initiatives to deepen engagement with Chinese travellers.

Shanghai, 15 October 2025 Malaysia Airlines and UnionPay International have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and better serve the growing global travel needs of Chinese passengers. This strategic partnership underscores both organisations’ commitment to enhancing the payment experience and delivering greater value to customers through seamless transactions and future joint promotional initiatives. With the support of UnionPay, Malaysia Airlines aims to elevate the flight booking experience by enhancing its digital payment infrastructure across direct booking channels, customer service centres, and global ticketing offices. Among the key enhancements is the introduction of the capability to pay directly with Renminbi (RMB), enabling Chinese passengers to complete transactions without currency conversion — providing greater convenience while ensuring full compliance with regulatory requirements. The collaboration also includes data sharing and analytics to better understand travel and spending patterns, enabling Malaysia Airlines to tailor offers and improve personalisation for both leisure and corporate travellers. In the future, the two companies will explore expanding more payment solutions to support travel agencies and corporate clients booking through Malaysia Airlines. Dersenish Aresandiran, Chief Commercial Officer of Airlines from Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) , said, “UnionPay International is a trusted payment network used by millions of Chinese travellers. This partnership represents another important step in making the Malaysia Airlines experience smoother and more accessible. By accepting UnionPay International across all our channels, we’re offering customers the comfort of paying with their preferred method, whether they are booking from China or travelling within the region. It’s about removing friction and bringing Malaysian Hospitality closer to every guest.” Bomee Sheng, Global Director of UnionPay International, said, “Malaysia Airlines plays a key role in connecting China with Southeast Asia and beyond. Through this collaboration, we are ensuring that Chinese travellers can enjoy the same level of payment ease abroad as they do at home. Together, we will enhance the end-to-end travel experience—from flight booking to in-destination spending—using UnionPay International’s secure, widely accepted global network.” UnionPay cards are already accepted by more than 90 percent of merchants in Malaysia and by over 74 million merchants globally across 182 countries and regions outside China’s mainland. The MOU will extend this seamless experience to the aviation sector, making Malaysia Airlines one of the region’s most UnionPay-friendly carriers. The MOU also supports Malaysia’s wider goal of improving digital travel convenience ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026. By combining UnionPay International’s trusted global payment network with Malaysia Airlines’ extensive regional connectivity, both organisations aim to drive the next phase of growth in inbound tourism and outbound travel between China and Asia Pacific.