China UnionPay sees record high payment during holiday

SHANGHAI — National bank card association China UnionPay saw record payments during the National Day holiday, the association said Monday.

Payment over the China UnionPay network reached 1.37 trillion yuan ($206 billion) with a total of 728 million transactions. The daily averages went up 36.2 percent and 11.7 percent respectively year on year.

Xiamen city, in East China's Fujian province, was among the areas with the highest increase, with daily transactions up more than 50 percent year-on-year, said Chen Han, a data analyst with China UnionPay.

Xiamen was already a popular travel destination, but the ninth BRICS summit held in early September further increased the city's appeal to tourists.

A total of 2.13 million tourists visited the coastal city from Oct 1 to 8, a jump of 23.57 percent from a year ago.

China UnionPay is the country's largest bank card payment processor.

UnionPay cards are popular among Chinese tourists traveling abroad and accepted in more than 160 countries and regions around the world.

China had an eight-day holiday for National Day this year, one more day than usual as Mid-Autumn Day fell on Oct 4.