Payment System Report (2019)[1]
According to payment statistics in 2019, the nation’s payment systems functioned smoothly as the size of fund flows within the economy expanded and the payment volume rose steadily.
I. Bank Accounts[2]
The number of RMB bank accounts grew steadily. At end-2019, the RMB bank accounts totaled 11.352 billion, increasing 12.07 percent year on year, an acceleration of 2.24 percentage points from the end of 2018.
The number of bank accounts held by institutions maintained growth momentum. At end-2019, bank accounts opened by institutions totaled 68.3687 million, increasing 11.73 percent year on year, representing an acceleration of 0.15 percentage points from end-2018. Specifically, 49.1361 million were basic deposit accounts, with an increase of 13.35 percent year on year; 15.2797 million were general deposit accounts, with an increase of 8.53 percent year on year; 3.7722 million were special deposit accounts, with an increase of 5.53 percent year on year; and 180.6 thousand were temporary deposit accounts, with a decrease of 2.68 percent year on year. They accounted for 71.87 percent, 22.35percent, 5.52percent and 0.26 percent of the total number of bank accounts held by institutions respectively.
The number of individual bank accounts increased steadily. At end-2019, the bank accounts opened by individuals totaled 11.284 billion, marking an increase of 12.07 percent year on year, with an acceleration of 2.25 percentage points from end-2018. The number of accounts held per capita[3] reached 8.09.
II. Non-cash Payment Instruments
In 2019, a total of 331.019 billion non-cash payment transactions[4] with an amount of RMB3779.49 trillion were processed by banking institutions nationwide, exhibiting an increase of 50.25 percent and 0.29 percent year on year respectively.
1. Bankcards
Bankcard issuance increased steadily. At end-2019, the number of bankcards in use rose 10.82 percent year on year to 8.419 billion, among which debit cards rose 11.02 percent year on year to 7.673 billion, while credit cards and debit-credit integrated cards rose 8.78 percent year on year to 746 million. The number of debit cards accounted for 91.14 percent of the total bankcards in use, with an increase from the end of previous year. The number of total bankcards per capita reached 6.03, representing an increase of 10.40 percent year on year. In particular, the per capita number of credit cards and debit-credit integrated cards recorded 0.53, with an increase of 8.36 percent year on year.
The number of bankcard acceptance terminals[5] dipped.
At end-2019, 23.6296 million merchants, 30.8928 million POS terminals and 1.0977 million ATM terminals[6] were connected to the inter-bank bankcard payment system, with a decrease of 3.7004 million, 3.2554 million and 13.1 thousand year on year respectively. The numbers of POS and ATM terminals per 10,000 persons decreased by 9.88 percent and 1.56 percent year on year respectively, to 221.39 and 7.87.
Bankcard transactions continued to grow. In 2019, a total of 321.989 billion bankcard transactions[7] with a cumulative trading amount of RMB886.39 trillion were processed across the country, increasing 53.07 percent and 2.82 percent year on year respectively, averaging 8.82 transactions and RMB2.43 trillion per day. The transactions included 7.085 billion cash deposits of RMB52.88 trillion, decreasing by 9.9 percent and 11.9 percent year on year respectively, 11.385 billion cash withdrawals of RMB51.65 trillion, decreasing by 19.18 percent and 12.31 percent year on year respectively, 144.726 billion transfers of RMB664.71 trillion, increasing by 60.68 percent and 2.2 percent year on year respectively, and 158.792 billion consumer payments of RMB117.15 trillion, increasing by 61.48 percent and 26.30 percent year on year respectively. The bank card penetration rate stood at 49.03 percent, increasing 0.06 percentage points year on year. The consumer payment per bankcard reached RMB13.9 thousand, increasing 13.97 percent year on year. The consumer payment per transaction via bankcards recorded RMB737.76, decreasing 21.79 percent year on year.
The bankcard credit continued to grow. At end-2019, the total bankcard credit line[8] reached RMB17.37 trillion, with a growth of 12.78 percent year on year, while the outstanding balance of bankcard credit stood at RMB7.59 trillion, with a growth of 10.73 percent year on year. The credit line per bankcard posted RMB23.3 thousand, with the credit utilization rate[9] standing at 43.70 percent. The total outstanding amount of credit in arrears for over half a year reached RMB74.266 billion, accounting for 0.98 percent of the total outstanding balance of credit.
2. Commercial Papers
The transactions of commercial papers showed a downward trend. In 2019, transactions of commercial papers totaled 190 million, or RMB133.81 trillion, decreasing by 14.46 percent and 10.11 percent year on year respectively. These included 168 million transactions or RMB114.74 trillion of checks, with a decrease of 16.73 percent and 12.72 percent year on year respectively; 21.0678 million actual settlements or RMB18.25 trillion of commercial drafts, with an increase of 11.32 percent and 12.58 percent year on year respectively; 233.1 thousand transactions or RMB175.967 billion of bank drafts, with a decrease of 12.88 percent and 10.67 percent year on year respectively; and 687.8 thousand transactions or RMB641.947 billion of bank promissory notes, with a decrease of 40.78 percent and 34.83 percent year on year respectively.
Transactions processed by the electronic commercial draft system[10] maintained growth. The year 2019 saw the following transactions: 19.9021 million issues of RMB19.50 trillion, increasing 37.19 percent and 16.11 percent year on year respectively; 20.3032 million acceptances of RMB19.96 trillion, increasing 36.32 percent and 16.11 percent year on year respectively; 6.7722 million discounts of RMB12.38 trillion, increasing 61.53 percent and 27.28 percent year on year respectively; 8.3809 million inter-bank discounts[11] of RMB38.75 trillion, increasing 20.2 percent and 12.49 percent year on year respectively; and 1.1053 million bond-pledged repos of RMB12.01 trillion, increasing 95.48 percent and 94.97 percent year on year respectively.
3. Credit Transfers and Other Settlement Transactions
The volume of credit transfers and other settlement transactions remained stable. In 2019, the number of other settlement transactions in the banking system including credit transfer, direct debit, collection with acceptance, and domestic L/C totaled 8.841 billion, with a cumulative amount of RMB2759.28 trillion, dropping 9.15 percent and increasing 0.06 percent year on year respectively. To be specific, the credit transfer transactions recorded 8.385billion, totaling RMB2706.2 trillion.
4. Electronic Payment
The mobile payment transaction volume grew relatively rapidly. In 2019, banks processed a total of 223.388 billion electronic payment transactions[12] in the amount of RMB2607.04 trillion. Specifically, online payment recorded 78.185 billion transactions or RMB2134.84 trillion, up 37.14 percent and 0.4 percent year on year respectively. The transaction volume and value of mobile payment reached 101.431 billion and RMB347.11 trillion, up 67.57 percent and 25.13 percent year on year respectively. The transaction volume of telephone payment posted 176 million and the transaction value reached RMB9.67 trillion, up 11.12 percent and 25.94 percent year on year respectively.
In 2019, non-bank payment agencies processed a total of 719.998 billion online payment transactions[13] in the amount of RMB249.88 trillion, increasing 35.69 percent and 20.1 percent year on year respectively.
III. Payment Systems
In 2019, the payment systems[14] processed a total of 568.512 billion payment transactions in the amount of RMB6902.22 trillion.
1. PBC Payment Systems
In 2019, the PBC payment systems[15] processed 18.017 billion payment transactions in the amount of RMB5212.49 trillion, up 14.68 percent and 13.35 percent year on year respectively, accounting for 3.17 percent and 75.52 percent of the total payment transactions and value respectively. The daily processed transactions averaged 51.0989 million and the daily processed value averaged RMB20.63 trillion[16].
The growth of transaction volume in the HVPS slowed down. In 2019, the HVPS processed 1.094 billion transactions in payments of RMB4950.72 trillion, up 1.97 percent and 13.72 percent year on year respectively. The daily transactions averaged 4.3768 million in volume and RMB19.8 trillion in value.
The transaction volume of BEPS grew rapidly. In 2019, the BEPS processed 2.627 billion transactions of RMB60.58 trillion, up 20.37 percent and 70.48 percent year on year respectively. On a daily basis, the system processed 7.1986 million transactions of RMB165.962 billion.
The growth of transactions in the IBPS moderated. In 2019, the IBPS processed 14.011 billion transactions in payments of RMB110.77 trillion, up 15.81 percent and 24.38 percent year on year respectively. On a daily basis, the system processed 38.3858 million transactions of RMB303.472 billion.
The transaction volume of ACH continued to decrease. In 2019, the ACH[17] processed 282 million transactions in payments of RMB81.89 trillion, down 20.48 percent in volume and 26.9 percent in value year on year respectively. On a daily basis, the system processed 1.1289 million transactions of RMB327.552 billion.
The transaction value of CFXPS declined slightly. In 2019, the system processed 2.2026 million transactions of USD1.23 trillion (equivalent to about RMB8.54 trillion[18]), with an increase of 3.16 percent and a drop of 1.22 percent year on year respectively. On a daily basis, the system processed 8810.21 transactions of USD4.938 billion (equivalent to about RMB34.140 billion).
2. Other Payment Systems[19]
The number of transactions of the intra-bank payment systems declined sharply. In 2019, these systems processed 16.469 billion transactions of RMB1218.69 trillion, down 55.12 percent and 8.51 percent year on year respectively. On a daily basis, the systems processed 45.1203 million transactions of RMB3.34 trillion.
The number of transactions processed by the interbank bankcard payment system[20] increased considerably. In 2019, the system processed 135.175 billion transactions[21] of RMB173.6 trillion, up 280.62 percent and 44.32 percent year on year respectively. On a daily basis, the system processed 370 million transactions of RMB475.627 billion.
The number of transactions processed by the urban commercial bank draft processing system and payment & clearing system dropped substantially[22]. In 2019, the systems processed 4.772 million[23] transactions of RMB732.089 billion, down 92.42 percent in volume and up 24.45 percent in value year on year respectively. The daily transactions averaged 13.1 thousand or RMB2.006 billion.
The number of transactions of the rural credit bank payment & clearing system[24] decreased rapidly. In 2019, the system processed 1.302 billion transactions of RMB2.93 trillion, down 84.59 percent and 65.35 percent year on year respectively. The daily transactions averaged 3.5682 million or RMB8.023 billion.
The transaction volume of CIPS[25] continued to increase. In 2019, the CIPS processed 1.8843 million transactions of RMB33.93 trillion, up 30.64 percent and 28.28 percent year on year respectively. The daily transactions averaged 7537.15 or RMB135.702 billion.
The Nets Union platform[26] ran smoothly. As of end-2019, a total of 534 commercial banks and 115 payments agencies have been connected into the Nets Union platform. In 2019, the platform[27] processed 397.542 billion transactions of RMB259.84 trillion. The daily transactions averaged 1.089 billion or RMB711.897 billion.
[1] Since 2015, the payment system has disclosed payment transaction data according to the financial industry standards of Statistical Indicators of Payment Operations.
[2] Bank accounts refer to RMB bank settlement accounts.
[3] When indicators involve per capita figures, the population applied is 1.39538 billion of mainland China at the end of 2018, in accordance with the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, similarly hereinafter.
[4] Non-cash payment transactions include commercial papers, bankcards and other settlement transactions. Specifically, other settlement transactions include credit transfer, direct debit, collection with acceptance and domestic L/C.
[5] The data of merchants and POS terminals that were connected to the inter-bank bankcard payment system is from China UnionPay Co., Ltd.
[6] Since Q1 2018, the statistical coverage of the number of ATMs has been adjusted. It includes not only the in-service automatic deposit machines, automatic withdrawal machines, automatic deposit and withdrawal machines, self-service payment terminals, and other traditional self-service facilities distributed by depository institutions, but also self-service terminals, Virtual Teller Machines (VTM), smart counters and other new-type terminals.
[7] Bankcard transactions were the sum of RMB and foreign currency denominated transactions.
[8] The total bankcard credit line is the sum of credit lines of credit cards and debit-credit integrated cards.
[9] The credit line utilization rate is the ratio of outstanding bankcard credit balance to total credit line.
[10] The data of the electronic commercial draft system were from the Shanghai Commercial Paper Exchange.
[11] Since Q3 2017, the statistics of inter-bank discounts and bond-pledged repos of electronic commercial drafts have been compiled separately.
[12] Electronic payment refers to the transaction volume and value that cause changes in the balance of settlement accounts initiated by customers through six channels including online banking, telephone banking, mobile payment, ATM, POS, and other electronic payments.
[13] The online payment transaction volume processed by non-bank payment institutions includes the volume of online payment involving bank accounts initiated by payment institutions and online payment transaction volume of payment accounts, but does not include the transaction volume of Red Packet and similar entertainment products. On April 1, 2018, the Provisions on Barcode and QR Code Payment Business Standards (Interim) came int o effect. Since Q2 2018, statistics of merchants’ barcode and QR code transaction payments have been collected based on bankcard payment acquiring services instead of online payment.
[14] The payment systems include HVPS (high-value real-time payment system), BEPS (bulk electronic payment system), IBPS (internet banking payment system), ACH (automated clearing house), CFXPS (China foreign exchange payment system), intra-bank payment systems of banking financial institutions, bankcard inter-bank payment system, urban commercial banks draft processing system and payment & clearing system, rural credit bank payment & clearing system, CIPS (China international payment system) and Nets Union clearing system.
[15] The PBC Payment Systems include HVPS, BEPS, IBPS, ACH and CFXPS.
[16] In 2019, HVPS, CFXPS, ACHs and CIPS operated for 250 business days and other payment systems for 365 business days. The actual operating business days are used for the calculation of daily averages, similarly hereinafter.
[17] The ACH includes the intra-city notes exchange system and the intra-city electronic clearing system.
[18] The transaction value of CFXPS was calculated and then converted to RMB according to the exchange rate of the last trading day of each quarter.
[19] According to the PBC working requirement of “breaking the direct connection between third-party payment institutions and commercial banks”, all third-party payment institutions joined the system of UnionPay or Nets Union, and the business between the payment institutions and commercial banks, as well as business between the Urban Commercial Bank Clearing Co., Ltd. or members of Rural Credit Banks Funds Clearing Center and third-party payment institutions will not be included in calculating transactions of the intra-bank systems of banks, urban commercial bank payment and clearing system, and rural credit bank payment and clearing system.
[20] The data of the inter-bank bankcard payment system is from China UnionPay Co., Ltd.
[21] Since Q2 2018, the number of transactions processed by the interbank bankcard payment system only includes transactions of capital settlement; inquiries, account verification and other non-capital settlement transactions are excluded. Since Q1 2019, the volume of transactions processed by the interbank bankcard payment system includes online payment involving bank accounts initiated by payment institutions and processed by the interbank bankcard payment system. The year-on-year statistics are calculated on a comparable basis.
[22] The data of the urban commercial bank draft processing system and payment & clearing system is from the Urban Commercial Bank Clearing Co., Ltd.
[23] Since 2017, the data of the urban commercial bank draft processing system and payment & clearing system has also covered real-time collection payment transactions in addition to bank drafts, remittance, universal deposit and withdrawal.
[24] The data of the rural credit banks payment & clearing system is from Rural Credit Banks Funds Clearing Center.
[25] The data of CIPS is from Cross-border Interbank Payment and Settlement Co., Ltd.
[26] The data of the Nets Union platform is from Nets Union Clearing Co., Ltd.
[27] The data of the Nets Union platform refers to online payment transaction volume initiated by payment institutions and processed by the Nets Union platform via bank accounts.
