A leading partnership designed to drive financial inclusion in the region

Abu Dhabi, UAE - March 26, 2016

As a leading integrated electronic payment solutions provider and a leading payroll card service provider based in the UAE, Mint is proud to announce the issuance of its first EMV Chip based UnionPay Salary Cards in the GCC. UnionPay International, a global provider of high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world's largest cardholder base, has certified Mint as its Third Party Service Provider (TPSP).

The launch of UnionPay's EMV Chip based salary cards aims to provide more than 500,000 workers with electronic payments functionality along with other value added services including global withdrawal, global Point of Sales Purchases as well as global access to their finances. Mint with association with partner banks can provide micro credits at affordable rates, and assist workers in gaining the ability to choose the right savings and insurance. The issuance of this card aims to achieve financial and digital inclusion by creating awareness within workers and facilitating their way with the company's partner banks to bring them up to date with the daily banking requirements.

This partnership will help pave the way to economic freedom and financial inclusion for workers who are currently under served on banking facilities. The card issuance aims to empower the labor segment through the Wage Protection System, a system by the Central Bank of the UAE developed to better protect labor.

Banks and financial institutions can now also benefit from UnionPay's international issuing and end-to-end processing services from Mint, the UnionPay certified service provider, without the need to make upfront capital investments required to operate their end point.

Mint has currently a customer base of over 400,000 card holders and is processing a volume of around 400 million Dirhams every month in association with its banking partners.

"As a part of broader initiative of the UAE government, Mint is determined to contribute towards building a happy community. We are committed to provide an unparalleled product and service experience for our customers," said Abdul Razzak Al Abdullah, Chairman of Mint."

UnionPay chip cards are financial IC cards in conformity with international EMV standards. They have multi security protection layers which can effectively prevent skimming, false cards, and unauthorized transactions.

UnionPay  has the largest portfolio of card issuance having more than 5 billion cards issued globally. UnionPay cards are now issued in more than 40 countries as well as accepted in more than 150 countries and regions around the world. UnionPay International continues to strengthen its cooperation with mainstream financial institutions in the region to expand its acceptance footprint, increase card volume, and make breakthroughs in online payment and mobile payment.

Mr. Hua Young GE, Chairman of China UnionPay commented: "This partnership will offer local residents a more secure and convenient payment experience; it will also promote our local partners to provide more innovative and better financial services, thus realize win-win results. UnionPay, together with MINT Group and other mainstream institutions in the Middle East, will continuously expand the acceptance scope of UnionPay cards, enlarge the card-issuing scale, and achieve breakthroughs in online payment, mobile payment and other innovative businesses."

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About Mint
Established in 2009, Mint is one of the leading vertically integrated payment solutions provider with its own distribution channel, state of art technology platform with data centre in UAE offering complete payment suite and value added services to provide enterprise solutions seamlessly. Mint Group is operating through three entities: Mint Middle East (Card Management Programs and WPS programs), Mint Gateway (transaction processing) and Mint Electronic Payment Services (services for acquirers).

Mint and its group of companies have a long experience in providing payment solutions and a deep understanding of the market needs and specifics, facts proven by being entrusted as a partner and as a service provider by an impressive list of clients across the Middle East. Mint group of companies has two major shareholders in The Mint Corporation, a company publicly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and Global Business Services and Multimedia, an Abu Dhabi based business. The Mint Corporation was a pioneer in prepaid card products and services and was Canada's first provider of prepaid card programs.

About UnionPay International
Established in March 2002, UnionPay International is a convenient and internationally accepted payment network building the bridge between buyers and sellers through different payment methods which vary from ATM cash withdrawal, to POS terminal for purchase and even online payments.

For more information, please contact:
Mint Middle East LLC
Landline: +971 4 346 7786
Fax: +971 4 346 7787
email: info@mintinc.com

© Press Release 2016