Macau authorities have urged banks to restrict the use of China UnionPay cards which racked up USD22.5 billion in transactions last year, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said, in a bid to curb the increasingly large amounts of money being illegally taken out of the Chinese mainland.
Macau is the world’s largest gambling market, and a popular destination for mainland gamers who bet up to millions of yuan at a time.
The source attended a high-level meeting organised by the Monetary Authority of Macau a week ago during which it laid out guidelines to restrict the use of UnionPay cards at shops selling jewellery and other luxury items located on casino gaming floors.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)