Unregistered UnionPay transactions in Macau amounted US$153 million in 2015

Macau Judiciary Police opened 30 investigations on China UnionPay’s handheld terminals.

Macau.- 24 cases out of the 30 investigations involving alleged unregistered UnionPay handheld terminals were brought before the Public Prosecutions Office. Macau Judiciary Police identified 76 suspects, 62 of which were from mainland China, in addition to seizing 71 illegally modified handheld terminals.

Handheld terminals are tampered so the UnionPay platform identifies them as if they were registered and operated in mainland China. Transaction fees charged by the China UnionPay system are much lower than in Macau.

UnionPay International Co Ltd, the China UnionPay’s subsidiary that manages transactions outside mainland China, faces losses of MOP2.29 million (US$ 286,793) in fees for operations allegedly done on unregistered terminals in Macau last year.