OREANDA-NEWS. March 30, 2012. Being a fast payment technology, contactless payments by financial IC cards are hassle-free, without any need to enter a PIN or sign the receipt when using credit cards to pay, just wave the card at the card reader. Contactless payments are fast and easy. Today, cardholders welcome this new technology which has been widely applied in many areas. ICBC was the first bank in the country to launch the contactless payment service for consumers to pay by financial IC card. The new service is a response to the State's Decision of moving forward modern financial services, and the assertion of People's Bank to adopt the use of financial IC cards in public service fields, reported the press-centre of ICBC. 

So far, ICBC is the No.1 bank in the country in terms of the number of contactless-enabled CUP chip cards issued and cardholder expenditure volume. By end-2011, ICBC had issued over 4 million CUP chip cards. In 2011, cardholders spent RMB 17.7 billion to pay for their daily necessities.

ICBC spent tenuous effort and achieved significant progress in the launch of contactless payment services and card acceptance solutions. I. "Convenient Payment Service": Deliver a range of comprehensive card acceptance solutions for people to make contactless payments for their daily life. At present, in a bid to build an extensive payment network, ICBC has started to deploy contactless devices across the country for people to use credit card to pay for restaurant bills, transportation, tickets and other daily spending. Retailers welcome contactless payments since they are fast and easy for cardholders, who are happy to wave their credit cards to pay. In Dalian, ICBC installs contactless devices in the taxi for easy payment to passengers; In Fujian, ICBC installs contactless devices at two large supermarkets.

By taking advantage of the fast and convenience of contactless payment technology, customers no need to queue up at the cashier. Both the merchants and cardholders welcome the contactless payment services. II. "More Spending, More Discount": By combining the launch of contactless payment services with promotion activities, ICBC and top merchants join force to launch a variety of fabulous promotion activities for new cardholders. The purpose is to let everybody to enjoy the real benefit of "financial innovation", all the discounts and offers. An example: the "Quick Buy Card" allows Beijing cardholders to buy cinema tickets by contactless payments instead of queuing up at the ticketing counter.

Moreover, when issuing the new cards, ICBC in conjunction with many cinemas in Beijing launched a promotion of "Pay RMB 10 to see movie" for cardholders to enjoy the real benefit. Last year in Dalian, ICBC offered contactless payment services at the food shops or convenient stores. In the same year, ICBC launched the "Wave Your Card, Take the Puff", a promotion that allows cardholders to enjoy delicious food. The "Mobile Credit Card" in Shenzhen is an example of contactless payment using mobile phone. Mobile users can "Pay just by mobile phone" now.

In the upgrade of card acceptance network, use of emerging technologies in payment environment is already an important measure of ICBC to improve people's livelihood and serve the real economy, also a key indicator of ICBC to fulfill its "Benefits for People" philosophy. The application of contactless technology is definitely a boost to the social payment scheme, offering more options for cardholders to pay easily for their daily necessities. ICBC will take this opportunity to achieve another milestone in the delivery of "Convenient Payment" services.