The fledgling bankcard business in China is promising and has broad market prospects, said Chai Hongfeng, vice president of China UnionPay Corp, at a conference on banking cards held earlier this week in this coastal city of east China's Shandong Province.

Awareness of consumption on bankcards is being built among the Chinese people, in line with the development of information technology and changes in consumption mentality.

Currently in China for every one yuan worth of consumption about 0.2 yuan is paid through the bankcard service system, or 20 percent of total consumption.

Latest statistics show that China had issued 690 million bankcards by the end of the first quarter of this year, 80 million more than the 610-million level by the end of 2003. The number of franchised businesses under the bankcard regime amounted to 540,000, and that of bankcard issuers to 141 nationwide.

At the end of last year, interbank services became available in 684 Chinese cities. And the year saw 1.2 billion interbankcard-based deals made around the nation, which were valued at more than 380 billion yuan (US$45.78 billion), up 90 percent and 110 percent respectively from the previous year level.

Between January and April this year, interbankcard business totaled 187.6 billion yuan (US$22.6 billion) worth, a year- on-year increase of 103 percent.

China is taking a series of measures to further improve and standardize bankcard related services, said Chen Jing, head of the Scientific and Technological Department of the People's Bank of China, the central bank.

Included is trial operation and popularization of cash registers with access to taxation services.

By 2005, bankcard services will be available at 30 percent of retail businesses, including hotels and catering firms, across China, Chai Hongfeng forecast.

(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2004)