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Bank card usage shot up in Spring Festival holiday

By Hu Yuanyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-02 15:13

Chinese consumers spent 38.84 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) in purchase with bank cards during the Spring Festival Holiday which ended last week, up 32 percent from a year earlier, China UnionPay said on February 1.

Related readings:  Credit card crunch tightens for would-be users  Chinese bank card business up 70% in value in New Year holiday  Bank cards pose challenge yet opportunity

And Chinese consumers' overseas bankcard-based spending also jumped 54 percent in the same period, the bankcard alliance said.

The figures, seen as a barometer of consumers' confidence, reflected that the government's efforts in boosting domestic consumption is working.

Credit spending at department stores was up 503 percent, restaurants, 160 percent, and jewelry stores 67 percent, according to China UnionPay.