Regarding credit card use in China
Christine:
thanks for your comments. On the
GTCI thread I got a very useful response on this
issue.
I share it here:
People's Bank of China and Visa International Release "China Bank IC Card Standards"
BEIJING, December 18, 1997
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) today released Version 1.0 of the China Bank IC (Integrated Circuit) Card Standards, jointly developed by domestic commercial banks led by the People's Bank of China and Visa International. The China Bank IC Card Standards will provide detailed guidelines for the development and implementation of chip-based payment cards in China, where more than 200 million payment cards are projected to be introduced over the next seven years.
"The release of the China Bank IC Card Standards is a major achievement of China's Golden Card Project. Their introduction marks a new phase of China's bank card industry," said Mr. Shang Fulin, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, at the announcement ceremony. "The Standards will lay the technical foundations for the interoperability of IC cards and sharing of the infrastructure They will also enhance management of and set guidelines for the IC card industry in China.
"This will propel the development of electronic currency and new bank services to be offered, opening up a new market for relevant domestic industries and accelerating the development of related national industries," Shang added.
Raymond Chan, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Greater China, Visa International, said, "The China Bank IC Card Standards mark a milestone in the development of China's card industry. It will play a pivotal role in China's efforts to connect with the international payment system and join the ranks of countries with highly advanced financial systems."
The China Bank IC Card Standards conform with ISO Standards and are compatible with the EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) Standards for global interoperability of IC cards.
The China Bank IC Card Standards establish a platform to suit the specific needs of IC cards issued in China. They protect existing investments in IC card pilots. They also ensure technical advancement by allowing future developments, such as JavaCard technology, to be implemented.
The 1.0 Version of China Bank IC Card Standards includes detailed specifications for basic IC card payment applications and accessibility for other, non-payment applications. Specifications for IC card terminals is scheduled to be finished in the first half of 1998.
The People's Bank of China will start testing and certification of IC cards in 1998 and will begin to initiate pilot projects. The Standards will be revised based on results of the pilot projects.
Since Bank of China issued its first IC card in 1995, the total number of IC cards issued to date by domestic banks in China has reached more than 2 million. The Hainan Branch of the People's Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communication and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank have all initiated their own IC card projects on an experimental basis.
Visa International has played a leading role in the development and implementation of global standards, including the EMV standard for IC -- or "chip" -- cards. Visa has successfully launched and conducted more than 60 chip card projects around the world and has built up a wealth of experience in this sector.
In June, 1997, Visa International signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PBOC to start joint development of the nation's chip card standards. Since then, a specialist group from Visa International has worked closely with the Working Group led by the People's Bank of China to jointly develop and formulate the China Bank IC Card Standards. IC card manufacturers of world renown, including Schlumberger, Bull, Gemplus, and G&D, also contributed to the effort.
"Visa's commitment to the development of China's card payment industry has been unwavering," said Visa's Chan. "Since entering China in 1989, we have worked extensively with our Member financial institutions in China, with emphasis on supporting the Golden Card Project. We have also assisted our Members in providing high quality training for bank card professionals. Visa International will continue to work closely with People's Bank of China and our Members to support China's efforts to modernize its electronic payment system."
The list of honored guests at today's ceremony included Mr. Raymond Chan, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Greater China, Visa International; Mr. Leehun Lee, Vice President and Chief Representative in China, Visa International; and representatives from the Office of the National Coordination and Leading Group for the Golden Card Project, State Technology Supervision Bureau, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communication, People's Insurance Company of China, CITIC Industrial Bank, Everbright Bank of China, Hua Xia Bank, Min Sheng Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Hainan International Finance Network Corp. Ltd., and China Banknote Printing and Minting Corp.
Editor's Note -- About Visa International:
Record growth in Visa Card numbers and card sales volume, for the year ended June 30, 1997, is reflecting the growing tendency in Asia-Pacific to replace existing cash and check payments with the use of payment cards. Visa International's Asia-Pacific volume was US$182.9 billion for the year ending June, comprising card sales of US$130.14 billion, up 33% from the same period in 1996. It also includes US$52.78 billion in commercial funds transfers in China, as reported by Chinese Member Banks. Visa Card numbers surpassed 108 million, up 15% from the previous year while the number of transactions rose by 39% to 965 million per year -- or 30 Visa transactions across the region every second.
As the world's best way to pay, Visa is the preferred payment brand and the largest consumer payment system worldwide with more volume than all other major payment cards combined. Visa plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions, their cardholders and the global economy. Visa has more than 70 smart card programs, including 7 million Visa Cash cards, underway in 29 countries and on the Internet. Visa is pioneering Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) programs to enable and advance Internet commerce. Visa's 600 million cards, generating US$1 trillion in annual volume, are accepted at more than 14 million worldwide locations, including 380,000 ATMs in the Visa Global ATM Network. |
