Powa Technologies has formed a 10-year strategic alliance with “limitless” potential to create a ubiquitous new standard in mobile commerce for China UnionPay’s (CUP) 1.3b credit and debit card users.  

International commerce technology specialist Powa has formed a joint venture to help retailers capture China’s immense Online to Offline (O2O) market, which was worth CNY 304.94b as of 1st half 2015, and is growing 80 per cent annually.1 The partnership will integrate UnionPay Network Payment’s mobile payment & point-of-sale solution with Powa’s market leading mobile commerce platform, PowaTag.

The PowaTag solution has captured worldwide attention, attracting over 1,200 brands and retailers in the first year of launch. PowaTag has the unique ability to transform any form of consumer engagement, from advertising and social media, to samples and products themselves, into a way for customers to instantly complete purchases, enter competitions, and do more with their smartphones.

The joint venture will first launch in Guangdong Province to give the region’s 106 million-strong population the ability to transact with 400,000 merchants, before expanding to all 6m merchants across the country.  By the end of 2016, 50 million Chinese consumers will have the ability to transact with 1 million merchants using PowaTag.

PowaTag UnionPay is a co-branded version of the PowaTag app with UnionPay Network Payment specifically designed for the Chinese market, and fully integrated with the UnionPay Network Payment’s point-of-sale and settlement network.

PowaTag UnionPay is seeking to strengthen China’s O2O and Mobile Payment markets, helping the country’s millions of retailers to create a powerful, unified omnichannel strategy. More than CNY 7.14 trillion was spent online in the country in 1st half 2015, with 25 per cent annual growth.

Unlike other mobile payment platforms attempting to enter the Chinese market, PowaTag is unique and offers so much more than simply payments.  As a full commercial solution, including mobile shopping, catalogues, coupons, and more – PowaTag is available on both iOS and Android platforms, does not depend on NFC-enabled POS systems, works with ALL China UnionPay debit/credit cards, and can be immediately deployed at any merchant who accepts China UnionPay cards.                                                                                                          

Chairman of the joint venture, Mr. Hu, said: “Our platform is a project which operates together with UnionPay Network Payment. Our mobile internet products, O2O products and the POS system of China UnionPay connect together, speeding up integration and extending the capabilities of PowaTag. We have a target to reach at least 50m consumers regularly using the platform within one year from launch.”

Dan Wagner, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Powa Technologies said: “PowaTag is an incredible channel to facilitate and simplify commerce for consumers and improve business for merchants. This partnership with UnionPay Network Payment will allow PowaTag to take a leading position in the mobile commerce and O2O market in China. The country already has the largest eCommerce market in the world, and we will play a key role in enabling millions of retailers to capture a market that is hungry for innovative new digital solutions.”

Alessandro Gadotti, CEO Asia Pacific of Powa Technologies, said: “With this alliance, PowaTag will further extend its presence and strength in Asia Pacific, the fastest growing region in the world for mobile adoption, eCommerce and retail in general. Being a leader in such a challenging and fast growing region is proof that PowaTag’s technology is a breakthrough innovation in the commerce and retail space