BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- With nearly 20 million cards issued outside China in 2017, China UnionPay now has a much stronger presence overseas.

Statistics from UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay focusing on international business, showed that the total number of UnionPay card holders outside China had reached 90 million by the end of 2017.

These card holders live in 48 countries and regions. About 25 million cards were issued in the countries along the Belt and Road routes.

In Laos, Mongolia and Myanmar, UnionPay is the most popular bank card in terms of users.

In Pakistan, there are more than 4.1 million UnionPay cards in use, second highest among international card brands, while in Russia, some 1.3 million UnionPay cards have been issued by local banks.

A lot more foreigners were found using UnionPay cards to consume in China. The cities of Hangzhou, Chengdu and Xiamen reported the fastest growth in transaction volume in 2017.

The transaction volume for Pakistan-issued UnionPay cards in China more than doubled last year, while that for cards issued in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan rose by approximately 50 percent.

Starting from last September, the transaction volume made by overseas card holders had exceeded the cross-border transaction volume made by Chinese card holders.

In Europe and the United States, card issuance both rose by more than 20 percent last year.

Established in 2002, China UnionPay is a financial services corporation based in Shanghai.