20 April 2026 - TBCASoft and UnionPay International Announce a Network-to-Network Cooperation for Cross-Ecosystem Payment Interoperability

Silicon Valley, USA; April 20, 2026 — TBCASoft and UnionPay International announce a network-to-network cooperation agreement to advance digital payment interoperability between their respective ecosystems.

Through this cooperation, UnionPay International’s user-side ecosystem will be connected across TBCASoft’s HIVEX® merchant-side ecosystem, allowing UnionPay-enabled users to make QR-code-based payments using CPM (Customer Present Mode) and/or MPM (Merchant Present Mode) at merchant endpoints operated by HIVEX Acceptance Partners. By connecting at the network level, the cooperation creates an efficient and scalable model for payment acceptance expansion across participating markets.

UnionPay International brings scale, trust, and the institutional strength of a global leading payment network, supported by robust KYC and AML through its issuing bank members. HIVEX brings innovation, acceptance-side scale, and the federated interoperability framework of a QR-native next-generation payment network, with broad merchant coverage through its licensed acceptance partners and strong KYB and AML across merchant jurisdictions.

Importantly, this cooperation is structured to preserve the sovereignty of each participating ecosystem. Under the HIVEX federated operating framework, ecosystem partners maintain their own governance, compliance responsibilities, and existing network obligations, while achieving payment interoperability across networks. This federated model enables cross-network collaboration without requiring participants to unilaterally conform to another entity’s single centralized operating structure.

The HIVEX interoperability framework is also designed to be form-factor agnostic, establishing a foundation not only for QR-code-based payments, but also for future interoperability across other form factors, including NFC-based credentials and tokens at merchant endpoints.

Both parties intend to expand the cooperation over time on the basis of mutual benefit and shared value creation, exploring broader opportunities across additional markets, payment scenarios, and form factors.

About HIVEX

HIVEX, is an innovative federated payment framework designed to enable interoperability across payment ecosystems while allowing participants to maintain their own governance, compliance structures, and commercial relationships. HIVEX connects acceptance partners, e-wallet ecosystems, and payment networks to enable scalable payment interoperability across markets and form factors.