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Unified Banking Card Network to Open at Year End
A unified national banking cards network is expected to open by the end of this year, according to an official from the China Banking Card Office.
Currently, five commercial banks in the country, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Communication Bank, have successfully initiated the nationwide banking card network by linking centers in 10 major cities covering Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai with their head offices, according to chinadaily.com.cn.
Other commercial banks such as the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and the Bank of China (BOC) are all beefing up their efforts to enter the network.
However, industrial insiders pointed out that setting up a nationwide banking card network may encounter many difficulties, because some commercial banks are reluctant to join the network due to fierce competition in the banking market.
At present, the number of saving outlets in China stands at 130,000. And, there are about 27,000 ATMs (automatic teller machine) and 240,000 POS (point-of-sales) in the country. Most of them were constructed with investment by China's four major state commercial banks -- ICBC, CCB, BOC and ABC. It is still not certain whether the four banks will offer to share their facility with small banks.
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