The People’s Bank of China Focuses on Strengthening Bank Card Market Construction
Recently, the People’s Bank of China held a symposium on “Strengthening the Construction of the Card Base Market and Improving the Card Base Ecosystem”. The symposium highlighted the need for all parties in the bank card industry to proactively enhance their work measures, concentrate on key cities and areas, increase resource investment, and enhance the bank card acceptance environment.
The People’s Bank of China emphasized the importance of deepening the supply-side structural reform across all aspects of card issuance, acquiring, transfer, and clearing. The goal is to strengthen the coordination within the bank card industry, integrate resources from all parties, and collectively establish a sustainable business model. Additionally, the focus will be on coordinating risk prevention and control measures while optimizing services to promote the standardized development of the bank card market.
During the symposium, representatives from various financial institutions pledged to improve their payment service capabilities to better serve society and people’s livelihood.
ICBC, for instance, announced its support for the acceptance of all-brand foreign currency cards from major card organizations like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, and Diners Club. The bank also revealed plans to enhance the foreign card acceptance environment, innovate code-scanning payment products for overseas visitors to China, and provide foreign card cash withdrawal services at ATMs and outlet counters.
Other banks such as Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank shared their strategies to expand foreign card acceptance, increase merchant coverage, and promote payment service innovation to meet the diverse needs of their customers.
China Merchants Bank is focusing on completing equipment upgrades for key merchants to achieve full coverage of foreign card acceptance. Meanwhile, CITIC Bank is collaborating with mobile phone manufacturers to issue co-branded credit cards and launch exclusive credit cards for elderly customers to cater to their specific needs.
As of the third quarter of 2023, there are nearly 9.8 billion cards in use across China, showcasing the rapid development and maturation of the bank card industry over the past two decades.
In conclusion, the efforts and initiatives outlined by the People’s Bank of China and various financial institutions reflect a collective commitment to enhancing the bank card market and improving the overall card base ecosystem for the benefit of society and economic development.
(CCTV reporter Zhang Daofeng)