01.07.19
Gone are the days where cash was king in China. According to China Tech Insights’ report last year, 74% of Chinese consumers said they could live for more than a month with only 100 RMB (which is less than US$15) in cash. To address this growing interst for a swift and convenient payments, ICBC, the largest bank in China, has awarded Gemalto a three-year agreement to continue supplying contactless cards. The contract addresses multiple card schemes-branded cards including Amex, China UnionPay, JCB, Mastercard and Visa.
Chinese consumers are increasingly turning to digital payment methods. According to the China Banking Association, China had more than seven billion bank cards in circulation by the end of 2017. With the government’s strong push for POS upgrade in the past years, China’s contactless payments market, particularly in the credit card segment, is set to grow. Statistics show that there are over 31 million POS terminals installed in China, with the majority compatible with contactless transactions.
Built on Gemalto’s solutions, ICBC’s dual-interface cards (both contactless and chip) enable consumers to make payments by inserting them into point-of-sale (POS) terminals or tapping them against contactless-enabled payment terminals. The latter presents a huge value to consumers as it is intuitive and can shorten the checkout time by 63% as compared to cash transactions.
“As the digital security leader, Gemalto has been partnering with ICBC for almost 20 years. Our solutions, which are at the heart of modern life from payment to enterprise security, are helping to support ICBC’s global business expansion strategy and accelerate China’s cashless revolution,” said Michael Au, SVP Banking and Payment APAC for Gemalto.
Chinese consumers are increasingly turning to digital payment methods. According to the China Banking Association, China had more than seven billion bank cards in circulation by the end of 2017. With the government’s strong push for POS upgrade in the past years, China’s contactless payments market, particularly in the credit card segment, is set to grow. Statistics show that there are over 31 million POS terminals installed in China, with the majority compatible with contactless transactions.
Built on Gemalto’s solutions, ICBC’s dual-interface cards (both contactless and chip) enable consumers to make payments by inserting them into point-of-sale (POS) terminals or tapping them against contactless-enabled payment terminals. The latter presents a huge value to consumers as it is intuitive and can shorten the checkout time by 63% as compared to cash transactions.
“As the digital security leader, Gemalto has been partnering with ICBC for almost 20 years. Our solutions, which are at the heart of modern life from payment to enterprise security, are helping to support ICBC’s global business expansion strategy and accelerate China’s cashless revolution,” said Michael Au, SVP Banking and Payment APAC for Gemalto.