04.03.2021.
The NBS hereby informs citizens that it is now possible to withdraw cash by using the Chinese national card UnionPay at all ATMs of Banca Intesa (344 in total) and the majority of ATMs of UniCredit Bank (185 of the total 210) in Serbia, which means at over one thousand ATMs in our country. Namely, in addition to the ATMs of these two banks, cash withdrawals using UnionPay cards can be made at all ATMs of Banka Poštanska štedionica and OTP Bank.
The acceptance of UnionPay cards in our country is a result of the cooperation between the NBS and the largest global card system UnionPay International, and it will be enabled in the entire acceptance network of the DinaCard system in Serbia. The second phase of the project will involve the issuing of a joint DinaCard-UnionPay payment card that will be used in the global acceptance network of the UnionPay system in more than 175 countries and territories. The pilot project of issuing a joint payment card is planned for the last quarter of this year.
Please note that the DinaCard is the national payment card of the Republic of Serbia. The importance of national card systems for the local market and the economy is reflected in stronger competition, i.e. preventing monopolies/duopolies in the market, lower costs – by several times compared to international card systems, flexibility and services adjusted to local needs, and in fostering financial inclusion. For all these reasons, the largest European and world economies have and promote, or strive to establish, their own national card systems (USA, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Russia, China, India, Japan, Brazil, Turkey, to name a few). The costs of a user’s choice to make payments by using expensive card brands are borne by all payment service users – citizens and merchants through the prices of banking services packages and merchant fees which translate into the price of goods and services for all buyers. This is one of the main reasons why the said countries, including ours, invest great efforts in strengthening their national card systems.
The DinaCard system has seen a constant rise in the number of transactions and turnover over the past several years. Looking at 2020 alone, more than 102 million transactions worth RSD 474 billion were realised in the system, which is a 76% increase in turnover on the year before. The upswing is strongly supported by the new attractive services available to the users of the national payment card, such as online payments (DinaCard is accepted in over 750 internet stores in the country) or interest-free payment in instalment by using debit cards. At end-January 2021, there were 4.4 million issued DinaCards, one third of which chip-based (all new DinaCards are issued as chip-cards).
For more information about the DinaCard system, please visit: www.dinacard.nbs.rs, while additional information about the UnionPay system can be accessed at: http://www.unionpayintl.com/en/.
Payment System Department
