Nine Chinese institutions, including the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, have issued proposals on promoting the development of China's bank card industry, said sources with the PBC on Monday.
  
The proposals aim to promote the competitiveness of China's bank card industry, reduce risk and lead an industry still in its primary stage onto a "virtuous and proper" path by improving the legal system, issuing supportive policies and enhancing technologies.
  
The proposals emphasized several major points in promoting the development of China's bank card industry.
  
One is to complete the drafting and approval of the regulations on bank cards as soon as possible to provide basic legal guarantee for all participants in the market.
  
All government departments and their sub-budget institutions will be encouraged to take a lead in using bank card and pay by bank card in official expenditure.
  
The proposals also suggest the expansion of the overseas market for RMB bank cards and research on supportive policies and regulations.
  
Issuing preferential fiscal and taxation policies and those reducing communication fees and supporting technological creation are also positive measures to encourage the use of bank card, the proposals say.
  
However, more efforts should be made to strengthen risk management and establish risk prevention system to crack down on crime.
  
The proposals also make clear that by 2008, 60 percent of businesses with an annual turnover of over 1 million yuan (US$120,800) could accept bank cards, all major business centers, hotels and tourism scenic spots of large and medium-sized cities could accept bank cards, the consumption volume of bank cards could cover 30 percent of total retailing consumption and the success rate of bank to bank transactions could exceed 96 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2005)