Australia's largest merchant acquiring bank, Commonwealth Bank, has started accepting China UnionPay card payments. The new card acceptance partnership kicked off in David Jones stores yesterday and will be extended to all of CBA's 1300 merchant customers by July.China UnionPay is the biggest card scheme in the world, with 3.5 billion cards on issue, and Australia is an increasingly popular destination for Chinese tourists, business travellers and students.CBA's acceptance agreement is not the first UnionPay has made with an Australian bank. NAB has had an agreement in place for several years. And ANZ signed a memorandum of understanding with UnionPay last year but has yet to implement an agreement.CBA's executive general manager of corporate banking solutions, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, said CBA offered more payment options than NAB. Consumers with UnionPay cards will be able to make payments at CBA point-of-sale terminals using an EMV chip or contactless technology.But Commonwealth Bank ATMs will not issue cash to UnionPay card-holders."We have not ruled it out," Bayer Rosmarin said.China UnionPay's chairman, Su Ning, was at the launch in Sydney yesterday. He said he expected UnionPay card transactions in Australia this year to be worth A$785 million - double last year's figure.