LONG BEACH, N.Y. and SHANGHAI, China, March 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Planet Payment, Inc. (LSE:PPT) (LSE:PPTR) (OTCQX:PLPM), a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services, and MICROS Systems, Inc., a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, announced an agreement to add support of China UnionPay ("UnionPay"), a leading bankcard association, to the MICROS Payment Gateway ("MPG"). Through this solution, merchants using the Planet Payment hosted MICROS Payment Gateway will have the ability to process UnionPay credit and debit cards directly through their MICROS property management or point-of-sale system.
The MICROS Payment Gateway is designed to specifically facilitate integrated payment support for the MICROS suite of enterprise hospitality products, including OPERA, MICROS e7, MICROS 3700, MICROS 9700 and Simphony. The MICROS Payment Gateway has been integrated within Planet Payment's data center and processing platform, providing any acquirer or processing customer using Planet Payment's global platform with access to this integrated MICROS solution.
Since it launched in 2002, China UnionPay has become one of the largest card brands in the world with over 2.8 billion cards issued worldwide. Chinese consumers were estimated to spend US$55 billion overseas in 2011, meaning merchants are seeking solutions that allow them to accept UnionPay cards – one of the preferred payment options for the Chinese traveler.
In most regions, merchants currently use stand-alone terminals to process UnionPay cards, creating possible inefficiencies for the merchant who is required to reconcile payments in two separate systems. With the enhancements to the Planet Payment MICROS Payment Gateway, UnionPay card transactions are processed directly through the MICROS point-of-sale systems, providing hoteliers with a more efficient way to accept UnionPay credit and debit cards, as well as all other major payment types including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners, JCB and Interac, the leading debit card program in Canada. The targeted launch date for this service is in the second quarter of 2012.
"MICROS is excited that we were able to work with Planet Payment to integrate our Payment Gateway to support China UnionPay," said Kevin King, Managing Director of MICROS-Fidelio Information Systems (Shanghai) Co. Limited. "With the growing importance of the Chinese consumer segment, the ability to accept UnionPay cards through the Planet Payment MICROS Payment Gateway is an important product enhancement that provides greater operational efficiencies to our merchant customers."
The Planet Payment MICROS Payment Gateway also features end-to-end encryption and transaction tokenization, easing the PCI burden for the hospitality and Retail industries. The MICROS Payment Gateway will support Planet Payment's Pay in Your Currency® ("PYC") solution, also referred to in the industry as Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). With PYC, MICROS customers can provide an enhanced level of customer service by offering international guests the choice to pay in their home currency.
"The Planet Payment MICROS Payment Gateway with integrated UnionPay support is a powerful payment platform solution for the hospitality industry," said Philip D. Beck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Planet Payment. "Now any hotelier using the Planet Payment MICROS Payment Gateway can support the processing of UnionPay credit and debit cards and other major payment cards directly through their MICROS property management systems, enabling them to accept this important card product while enjoying the benefits of an integrated payment system."
About Planet Payment
Planet Payment is a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services. We provide our services in more than 16 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, primarily through our more than 45 acquiring bank and processor customers. Our point-of-sale and e-commerce services help merchants sell more goods and services to consumers, and are integrated within the payment card transaction flow enabling our acquiring customers to process and reconcile payment transactions in multiple currencies, geographies and channels.
Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information on the Company and its services. For up-to-date information follow Planet Payment on Twitter at @PlanetPayment or join Planet Payment's page on Facebook.
About MICROS Systems, Inc.
MICROS Systems, Inc. provides enterprise applications for the hospitality and retail industries worldwide. Over 330,000 MICROS systems are currently installed in table and quick service restaurants, hotels, motels, casinos, leisure and entertainment, and retail operations in more than 130 countries, and on all seven continents. In addition, MICROS provides property management systems, central reservation and customer information solutions under the brand MICROS-Fidelio for more than 26,000 hotels worldwide, as well as point-of-sale, loss prevention, and cross-channel functionality through its MICROS-Retail division for more than 100,000 retail stores worldwide. For more information on MICROS and its advanced information technology solutions for the hospitality industry, please contact Louise Casamento, Vice President of Marketing at (443) 285-8144 or (866) 287-4736. You can also visit the MICROS website at www.micros.com or send an email to info@micros.com.
About China UnionPay
China UnionPay operates the inter-bank clearing and settlement system, develops the worldwide UnionPay Card acceptance network, promotes the issuance and usage of the UnionPay Card as well as other innovative payment solutions, so as to provide quality, efficient and safe payment services to cardholders. To date, the total number of the UnionPay Card issued both at home and aboard has exceeded 2.8 billion. The UnionPay network has been extended to all the cities and rural areas in China. In addition, China UnionPay has enabled the UnionPay Card acceptance over 125 countries and regions through extensive cooperation with about 400 institutions around the world. Additional information may be found at: www.unionpay.com.