Banco Nacional Ultramarino SA (BNU) of Macao has started a service called BNU Pay, which lets UnionPay cardholders use their smartphones to make payments in Macao, Mainland China and abroad, Macao news media report.

Their reports say the new service, a function of the BNU App, can be used anywhere UnionPay QR codes are accepted.

The reports say UnionPay is the only interbank network that links all the automated teller machines belonging to all the banks in China.

UnionPay cards are accepted in 180 different parts of the world. Usually, only holders of bank accounts in Mainland China can use smartphones to make payments there.