YEREVAN, November 20. /ARKA/. Armenia's Central Bank has granted two local banks- Converse Bank CJSC and Acba Bank OJSC - permits to participate in the UnionPay International foreign payment and settlement system, the regulator's website reported.

The Central Bank told ARKA news agency that by this decision Acba Bank received the right to issue UnionPay cards, and Converse Bank - the right to both issue and service UnionPay cards.

"Thus, these are the first banks in Armenia that can issue UnionPay international cards," the Central Bank said. Acba Bank started servicing UnionPay cards back in 2019.

UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay. In partnership with over 2,500 financial institutions around the world, UPI enables the use of cards to pay for goods, services and cash withdrawals in 181 countries. UnionPay cards are issued in more than 79 countries. -0-