ICBC to Expand E-banking BusinessThe Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest commercial bank, unveiled an aggressive plan Thursday to markedly expand its e-banking business this year.The ICBC will increase its e-banking transaction volume from last year's 1.9 trillion yuan (US$229 billion) to 3 trillion yuan (US$361 billion) this year, the equivalent of 5 per cent of its traditional business, according to an ICBC official in charge of the e-banking division, who spoke Thursday at a press conference. E-banking uses the Internet, mobile phones and fixed line telephones to conduct banking business. Most of China's major commercial banks have introduced e-banking and invested heavily in its development. This year, the ICBC will further extend its e-banking business to include information for clients, said the official. "Another three transaction websites will be set up this year in addition to the present four," he said. Meanwhile, the bank will enhance its co-operation with various dotcom companies to stimulate the development of e-commerce. All the ICBC's branches will establish telephone banking service centres this year, and more attention will be paid to do-it-yourself banking services, he said. The ICBC began to develop e-banking in 1998, and it so far provides the service in 261 cities around the country, or in 80 per cent of its total outlets. Statistics from the bank show that transactions over the telephone reached 12 million in the second half of last year, the volume of transactions amounting to 35.6 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion). Last year, the total number of e-banking transactions reached 397 million. Transaction volume made up 3 per cent that of the traditional business. |
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