BEIJING - China's bankcard association, China UnionPay (CUP), said Monday it has signed an agreement with Peru's Interbank to extend CUP card services to Peru.

Interbank's ATM machines will begin accepting CUP cards in four months.

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Other businesses -- CUP card merchant acceptance, card issuance and online banking -- will be jointly launched in the near future, the agreement said.

Cai Jianbo, executive vice president of CUP, said trade between China and Peru has become increasingly frequent since the two countries signed their free trade agreement in April 2009.

Cai said CUP will accelerate the expansion of its card acceptance network in South America to provide safe and convenient payment services to its cardholders.

Interbank is affiliated with Intergroup, one of Peru's largest companies, and is the nation's largest retail banker.

It owns the largest ATM network in Peru, Global Net, and has more than 1,500 ATM machines installed across the nation.