China's non-cash payments rise in Q3 2019

BEIJING - The amount of non-cash payments in China in the third quarter of the year surged 54.8 percent year-on-year, a central bank report showed.

The amount of money involved in non-cash payments, including commercial papers, bank cards and online payment vehicles, stood at 926.03 trillion yuan ($131.71 trillion) in Q3, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

A total of 8.22 billion bank cards were in use at the end of the third quarter, up 3 percent from a quarter ago with each Chinese owning 5.89 bank cards on average.

Mobile payment registered robust growth in Q3, PBOC data showed, as banks transacted 86.11 trillion yuan of mobile payment, up 31.52 percent year-on-year.

Non-bank payment vehicles transacted 63.99 trillion yuan via internet payment during the period, up 23.04 percent from the third quarter last year.