China Mobile has teamed up with Minsheng Banking Corporation to offer a mobile phone financial service. It allows users to pay phone fees through mobile phone.

Users of China Mobile can now bind their Minsheng banking accounts with their mobile phone numbers, and thereby pay their phone bills by effectively using their phone as a mobile purse.

Besides paying service fees to China Mobile, this "mobile purse" can also be used to buy lottery tickets, pay insurance bills and to cover other financial payments.

Engineers with China Mobile say they are connecting with other banks, airports and railway departments, in the hope of expanding their service to more sectors.

Currently, China's debit card users have exceeded 500 million, and the subscribers of China Mobile have exceeded 170 million, suggesting huge potential for this new mobile banking market.

(CRI.com September 1, 2004)