A three-year development plan has been established by the municipal government to make Shanghai the national center for bankcard settlements and the headquarters for domestic bank-card issuers, said Sun Jianping, deputy director of the city information technology development department.

"The foundation for Shanghai to become the national bankcard industry center is well in place," Sun asserted.

By the end of last year, all 17 local bankcard issuers had connected their bankcard business to a national network. About 28 million bank-issued credit and debit cards circulate in Shanghai, which has a population of 16 million people.

In 2000, Shanghai led other mainland provinces and municipalities in setting up the nation's first credit firm for individuals.

One step that city government took toward its goal was success-fully urging the nation's official bankcard network company to set up its headquarters in the city.

Funded by 85 domestic financial institutions, China UnionPay Co. Ltd., whose main task is to link the nation's various bankcard networks, began operations in Pudong District in March.

"In our development blueprint, Shanghai is an important chess piece," said Li Ling, China Union-Pay executive vice president. "It will host our center for bankcard capital settlement." China Union-Pay has purchased new property in Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Park to install its national data processing center, Li added.

With China UnionPay?s choice of Shanghai, more domestic bankcard issuers will likely move their card business centers to the city to be closer to the national bankcard management body, said Sun.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, intends to pour more money into its operations.

The ICBC has plans to build its second data-processing center for bank cards in the nation in Shanghai and also install more "point of sales," or POS, machines.

(Shanghai Daily August 5, 2002)