BEIJING, March 18 -- China will cut fees on purchases made through bank cards from Sept. 6 on and save businesses about 7.4 billion yuan (1.16 billion U.S. dollars) each year. The move will not affect consumers.

Bank service fees will go down more than half, and will be different on debit cards and credit cards. Fees on debit cards will be no more than 0.35 percent of the total deal, while that on credit cards will be no more than 0.45 percent, according to a statement issued jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the People's Bank of China on Friday. Previously, banks could charge up to 0.9 percent as service fees.

Among other fees, network service fees will be no more than 0.065 percent of the total deal. Fees collected by institutions which handle the deals will be decided by the market, namely between the institutions and the businesses themselves.

Certain businesses will enjoy preferential treatment: non-profit medical institutions, for example, will enjoy zero bank service fees and no network service fees.

After the changes, the NDRC expects total fees to shrink by up to 63 percent for the catering sector and nearly 40 percent for department stores.