First Data Corp.(FDC), the global e-business and payment service giant, is very "excited" about China's growing banking card market, which is believed to augur huge business opportunities, a senior official of FDC said recently in Shanghai.

Pamela H. Patsley, executive vice president of FDC said that her company is very satisfied with the growth of China's banking card market, both in the increasing rate and market returns.

More Chinese are accustomed to use banking cards, a much rapid increase compared with other areas of the world, said Pamela, adding that hundreds in percentage increases were seen in e-payment fields.

Since the first banking card put into use in 1986, China has made noticeable progress in the banking card market. Statistics provided by China Unionpay shows that there were 762 million bank cards used in 2004, including both credit cards and debit cards, an increase of 17.4 percent to the previous same period, and a total of 26 trillion yuan (about US$3.2 trillion) worth of dealings were done, up 47 percent to the previous same period.

Pamela pointed out that though the average consumption volume and total banking card holders are still small, and most Chinese are still accustomed to using cash, Chinese customers will become adapted to e-consumption with the opening up of China's banking industry as 2007 approaches.

She is optimistic about the market potential in China, which has a population of 1.3 billion.

Chinese clients of the FDC include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, and the Bank of China. 

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2005)