中国银联与Discover签署的协议使这种交易成为可能。Discover是华尔街银行摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)拥有的一家信用卡公司。银联卡持卡人将利用Discover的Pulse网络刷卡和取现，该网络在美国拥有超过320万个商店POS终端和25万部ATM。

　　两公司于5月底达成了战略联盟，这是该联盟的第一步实质进展。

　　按照国家外汇管理局规定，人民币银联卡在境外仅限于购物、餐饮、住宿、交通、医疗等经常项目下的消费支出和提取小额现钞使用，在境外ATM提取现钞时，每卡每日累计不得超过等值人民币5000元。至于赌博、跨行转账、资本项目等相关交易，银联将通过对商户特殊代码的识别，完全禁止。

　　持卡人在美国使用银联人民币卡时，提现和消费时的计价货币均为美元。在提现和消费完成后，中国银联将根据交易当日的市场汇率，转换成人民币金额提供给国内发卡银行，由发卡银行即时扣除持卡人的账户余额，持卡人不存在汇率风险。

　　持卡人在美国刷卡消费时，不需支付任何手续费用。只有通过ATM提取现钞时，持卡人才需要支付一定金额的手续费，具体收费标准将由发卡行自行决定。

　　境外支取现金费用

　　工行 借记卡取款金额1%＋10元，贷记卡1%＋2元(借记卡、贷记卡最 低每笔1元，最高50元)

　　建行 借记卡和贷记卡都是取款金额1%＋10元

　　农行 每笔15元

　　交行 每笔1%＋10元，最低每笔15元

　　注：必须在开通银联受理的地区和国家，在有银联标识的ATM上取现

　　新闻延伸

　　人民币卡下一站挺进日本

　　继美国之后，银联人民币卡下一站是日本。据银联内部人士透露，本月中旬，中国银联将与日本有关方面签约，随后，人民币银联卡便可在东京、大阪刷卡消费。明年初法国也将按协议开通银联卡的受理。而年底前，银联人民币卡还将开通在德国、澳大利亚、新西兰、马来西亚、越南等欧美和亚太地区国家的消费和取现。此前，银联卡已可以在中国香港、中国澳门以及新加坡、韩国、泰国等地区和国家使用。 　　

　　A swipe of a card at Macy's in New York City on Monday by Liu Tinghuan, chairman of China UnionPay, marked the first-ever acceptance of a Chinese bank card in the United States.

　　During a ceremony this morning at the famous Macy's Herald Square in New York City, Liu purchased a golden necktie with a China UnionPay (CUP) bank card. The transaction marked the beginning of acceptance of China UnionPay cards on the Discover's PULSE network.

　　This was the first phase resulting from a strategic agreement between China UnionPay, China's only national bank card payment network, and Discover Financial Services LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley and the owner of the Discover Network and the PULSE ATM/debit network.

　　PULSE is one of the leading ATM/debit networks in the US.

　　"The acceptance of CUP cards in the US is a starting point from which both parties will complement each other and develop together in concert to raise the strategic cooperation to a new level," said Wan Jianhua, president and CEO of China UnionPay, at the ceremony.

　　David Nelms, Chairman and CEO of Discover Financial Services, said the strategic alliance between CUP and Discover would expand the links between the growing Chinese consumer economy and the US market.

　　"It will create new opportunities for merchants, financial institutions and other ATM owners by enabling them to serve Chinese travelers – the fastest-growing segment of the US tourism market," he said.

　　There are estimated 360,000 Chinese visitors to the US in 2005, according to the US Department of Commerce, with an average amount spent of 2,413 US dollars. The annual growth in Chinese travelers to the US is estimated at around 11 percent for the next 3 years.

　　According to the long-term agreement signed by CUP and Discover in May 2005, after the acceptance of CUP cards on the PULSE network throughout the US, the next step will be to complete arrangements for Discover Network cards to be accepted at CUP's network of more than 365,000 merchant locations and 80,000 ATMs in China.

　　David Nelms told Xinhua during an interview that he expected to go to China in the middle of next year, and make a similar transaction at a ceremony there, with Discover cards using in CUP networks to mark the beginning of next phase of the cooperation between the two companies.

　　"We look forward to next year, when we expect Discover Network cardholders will be able to use their cards at CUP locations throughout China," he said.

　　Discover Financial Services LLC operates the Discover Card with more than 50 million card members, the Discover Network with more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations and the PULSE ATM/debit network which serves more than 4,100 financial institutions and includes more than 3.2 million merchant terminals and 250,000 ATMs.

　　China UnionPay Co. Ltd. is the only national bank card payment network in China, with more than 800 million bank cards issued on the CUP network. Both companies are continuing to work toward the acceptance of CUP cards at Discover Network's more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations in North America.