(China) – Internet banking is on the rise in China with the China Construction Bank reporting more than 100,000 new online customers in the first four months of 2003.The number of transactions grew by a staggering 252 percent while the total volume of transactions rose by 187 percent.
The advent of the SARS virus contributed greatly to this trend with 90 percent of Bejing’s foreign exchange transactions conducted online during April. The number of online customers in Guandong province, where the SARS virus was first reported, grew by 543.09 percent in the first four months.
Meanwhile, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) reached a landmark in April of this year when it reached one million consumer loans, amounting to 54.5 billion yuan. However, this figure was surpassed by the Agricultural Bank of China which reached 76.575 billion yuan in individual consumer loans by the end of April – the largest amount issued by a Chinese bank and 50 percent of its target set for the whole year.
The rapid growth has been attributed to an uptake in mortgages, car loans and other purposes such as education, home decorating and short-term loans.