The China Unionpay Way: Why Bank Card Cross-Border Transaction Dispute Resolution is Difficult

With the increasing number of cross-broader transactions (CBT) that are facilitated by China UnionPay (CUP), international cardholder disputes are receiving more attention. However, according to a recently released internal statistic report, only a very small fraction was satisfactorily resolved from the cardholders’ perspective. Unresolved disputes not only bring unavoidable financial loss to the cardholders, but have significant implications for CUP’s efforts in promoting CUP-enabled CBT in international environments. Using a case study approach with semi-structured interviews, we present a conceptual framework for CBT Dispute Resolution. The conceptual framework specifies possible determinants and their relationships, and proposes that CUP’s weakness in its international presence, influence, governance, and relationships results in a high level of unresolved disputes.