BEIJING -- While China's credit card business has received a major boost from the country's tourism boom, the services still lag behind those available in many other countries.
While foreign visitors to China can use their credit cards at upscale hotels, shopping centers and restaurants in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou,
the lack of a linked network between the country's banks means that only about 7,000 of the country's 100,000 ATMs can accept foreign bank cards such as MasterCard and Visa.Wei Weiqiang, head of the MasterCard China Division, told the Straits Times that transactions worth just U.S. $1.2 billion were made through credit cards in 2001.
However, he expects foreign visitors' spending to increase to U.S. $18 billion a year once credit card services improve.Apart from overseas customers, banks in China are also interested in the huge domestic market.
Approximately 438 million bank cards have been issued by nine major Chinese banks since the issuance of the country's first one in 1985. Ninety percent of those cards are debit cards, according to the Straits Times, and most
of them can be used only within the country.As more and more residents of China travel overseas, international credit cards which can be used abroad are gaining popularity.
About 535,000 such cards have been issued so far.To promote the international cards, some banks have partnered with travel agencies to offer them, for free, to Chinese going overseas.
