How to use UnionPay in Mauritius

UnionPay business has been carried out in major tourist popular cities around the world for a relatively long time, and it has only been opened in Mauritius in the past two years.

There are two banks and financial institutions that cooperate with UnionPay in Mauritius. One is the Mauritius Commercial Bank, referred to as MCB, and a financial institution called CIM, which means that you need to use UnionPay cards to withdraw cash and exchange. It can be operated at all MCB bank cash machines and currency exchange machines in Mauritius (exchanges and cash withdrawals should be handled as cash withdrawals, and the handling fees should be very high).

In addition, when shopping at merchants with MCB credit card machines, you can use UnionPay directly. CIM is a financial institution and does not have a cash machine. It can only be used for shopping at merchants with credit card machines.

Since UnionPay has not been operating in Mauritius for a long time, UnionPay cards from some banks are available, while UnionPay cards from some banks cannot be used in Mauritius. For specific information, please refer to the following categories:

1. Available UnionPay cards: all UnionPay cards of Bank of China, single cards, UnionPay and Master cards of China Merchants Bank, UnionPay and Master cards of Ping An Bank, CITIC Bank UnionPay single card.

2. Not available: Bank of Communications UnionPay + VISA, China Minsheng Bank, China Construction Bank UnionPay single card, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China UnionPay + master, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank UnionPay + VISA.

This does not mean that only UnionPay credit cards can be used in Mauritius. Some debit cards can also be used to withdraw cash directly from MCB ATMs in Mauritius. As for what is possible and how to charge handling fees, children need to consult their respective banks before coming out. In addition, I recommend Hua Xia Bank’s UnionPay debit card. The first 10,000 rupees you can withdraw every day is free of charge at MCB Bank’s ATMs, and RMB can be directly converted into rupees. UnionPay cards can also be used at the ATMs of HSBC Bank in Hong Kong, but the handling fee is a bit expensive.