KIEV - Cards issued by China UnionPay, the dominant banking card organization in China, will be accepted in the Ukrainian market this year, a UnionPay representative said Tuesday.

"Currently, our cards are accepted in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Georgia," said Sasha Fan, head of the representative office of UnionPay in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"We expect that this year the cards will also be accepted in Azerbaijan and Ukraine," Fan said at an international conference titled "Payment Forum."

Banks of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are currently issuing payment cards for the clients in the CIS countries, Fan said.

The Shanghai-headquartered UnionPay was established in 2002. UnionPay cards have been accepted in more than 100 countries outside China.