ArmInfo. The Armenian national payment system Arca and the Chinese UnionPay International (UPI) have signed a cooperation agreement on online payment acceptance. According to a statement from Arca, the document was signed on September 3 in China.
As part of this cooperation, Armenia will develop a technological infrastructure for online UnionPay card acceptance based on modern technological solutions and international standards. The project will expand online payment capabilities for UnionPay cards in Armenia, providing a more modern, secure, and efficient payment experience.
The new agreement is another important step in the collaboration between Arca and UnionPay International, aimed at developing modern payment technologies in Armenia and expanding international payment options.
According to information available to ArmInfo, three banks in Armenia have been issuing and servicing UPI cards since 2024: Acba Bank and Converse Bank (since May) and Evocabank (since September). This followed the signing of a memorandum in November 2025 between Armenian Card and the international payment systems Mastercard and UPI on the issuance of co-badged Arca cards with the ability to use them internationally. Currently, along with the tokenization of Arca cards in Google Pay and Apple Pay (planned for completion by the end of 2026), the process of replacing the digital chips on local cards (including co-badged ones) has also been initiated. This is necessary to ensure the full availability of ArCa cards (including co-badged ones) in international services, i.e., token payments through Google Pay and Apple Pay.
At a July press conference, Armenian Card management announced that the issuance of co-badged cards would take place in 1-2 months, noting in response to a clarifying question from an ArmInfo correspondent that Arca-UPI cards would be the first to be issued. Evocabank has already started issuing co-badged Arca-UPI cards since September of this year - Arca Union Pay Co-badge (ArCa UPI cobadge). According to issue #33 of the analytical review "Armenian banks in the card business", prepared by ArmInfo Investment Company, as of April 1, 2026, 339 UPI cards have already been issued in Armenia, with an annual growth of 18.5%. Most of these cards are issued by Acba Bank - about 54%, and by Evocabank and Converse Bank - 31% and 15%, respectively (with an annual growth of almost 2 times). It should be noted that most Armenian banks issue and service international Visa and Mastercard cards along with local Arca cards. Acba Bank is the leader in the total number of cards (already over 1 million units), also holding the lead in the total volume of plastic transactions (around 2 trillion drams or over $5 billion).
