Four HK banks join China Unionpay network
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-04-08 10:23

Four Hong Kong banks joined the China Unionpay network in Shanghai on Wednesday, which allows them to launch Chinese currency RMB credit card services on the Chinese mainland.

The four banks are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), the Bank of East Asia and the Hang Seng Bank.

According to the agreement with the China Unionpay Co Ltd, the four banks will issue credit cards with the logo of China Unionpay, China's only national payment network, for Hong Kong customers to consume through the point-of-sale (POS) machines and automatic teller machines (ATM) on the mainland.

Meanwhile, mainland residents can use their RMB bank cards and credit cards issued by mainland banks in Hong Kong.

The four banks are to upgrade their ATM and POS machines in Hong Kong to cope with the new service.

David Eldon, HSBC's Asia-Pacific chairman, described the business link as an exciting step, saying they were happy to join China Unionpay.

The SCB would try to enroll at least 1,000 merchants to start the service by the end of this month in a bid to seize the opportunities brought by the "golden" seven-day holiday beginning May 1, said the SCB source.

Hong Kong banks have launched RMB business service since Feb. 25 this year covering deposits, exchange and remittance, which insiders believe, indicates an important step towards the free convertibility and internationalization of the Chinese currency.

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