China's banking industry will be facing a number of challenges to improve its services during the 2008 Olympic Games as millions of tourists are expected to spend billions of yuan during the event.

 

Domestic tourists are likely to spend 215 billion yuan (US$26.88 billion) during the Olympic Games, while overseas tourists will pump US$4.5 billion into the Beijing economy, said sources with an on-going international exhibition on banking technology and equipment in Beijing.

 

Liu Yongchun, vice president of China UnionPay, a national bank card payment network, said foreign tourists and athletes should not have a problem in using their bankcards in 2008. He said bankcards will be accepted by 90 percent of the merchants near Olympic venues and 90 percent of hotels and scenic spots. Currently only a limited numbers of Chinese banks are authorized to accept foreign bankcards at their automated tellers.

 

Bank of China (BOC), an official partner of the Beijing Olympics, has been approved by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to provide services to foreign organizations and individual clients during the Olympics. Hua Qingshan, vice president of BOC, said his bank is the only financial institution in China authorized to open temporary accounts for qualified legal persons.

 

BOC has also been commissioned by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) to sell event tickets and authorized Olympic products, said Hua.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2006)