An increasing number of people are getting online for financial services provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

The bank said Wednesday individual transactions through its Website reached a record 80.2 billion yuan (nearly US$10 billion) last month alone; the sum of transactions also topped 10 million a month for the first time.

It said total online remittances surged month-on-month 48.5 percent in September, hitting 34.5 billion yuan (4.25 billion dollars). Other online services include payment of various fees and salaries.

A survey conducted earlier by the China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA) shows that about one fifth of individual clients and 10 percent of corporate clients in China's ten major cities are already enjoying online services -- and users are expected to surge.

More than 35 percent of individual respondents and 25.5 percent of enterprises expressed they would get online for banking services in the upcoming year.

The figures indicate that the prospects of online banking are "very bright", the CFCA said in a report.

Nonetheless, the report cited factors for the lack of interest in online banking, including ignorance and safety concerns.

For current users, the ICBC, with more business outlets than any other bank in China, was their favorite. The bank was recently credited as "Best Private Online Bank in China" by the influential US magazine Global Finance.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2005)