THE bank of East Asia will launch its yuan-backed debit card on Tuesday as the first overseas bank to offer the service on the Chinese mainland, the bank said yesterday.
The bank, with China UnionPay Co, the mainland's sole bank card system operator, will announce more details on Tuesday, the bank said yesterday.
The bank said last week that its debit card system had passed an evaluation by the People's Bank of China.
The Hong Kong bank got approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to issue yuan-denominated debit cards in September.
The lender in March shifted its bank card data center to Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
Overseas lenders including HSBC, Citigroup and Standard Chartered have applied to issue yuan bank cards as they step up efforts to compete with domestic rivals. Bank cards offer income channels including commission from merchants which accept bank cards. The other three overseas players are still preparing for the issue. Standard Chartered has shifted its client data center to Shanghai.
Authorities asked overseas banks to shift their bank card data center to the mainland if they wanted to issue yuan-backed bank cards on the mainland.
Mainland authorities have yet to give a timetable over when overseas lenders can issue credit cards.