China online banking development Essay

chinaware is pass judgment to become the largest k straight offledge technology (IT) market in the area in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. china now ranks No. 2 in net subscribers in the world. Owing to chinas large population, the countrys net profit market still has extensive potential.Information technology has been utilized in most all(prenominal) sectors of chinas economy today. E-g overnment, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state- sustained enterprises will all append more(prenominal) opportunities for the development of the application inmainland china is expected to become the largest info technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. chinaware now ranks No.2 in profit subscribers in the world. Owing to Chinas large population, the countrys Internet market still has great potential. Informati on technology has been utilized in well-nigh all sectors of Chinas economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in China.Read the Memo move out by Jaime round 2004 Mid-Year Offsite bloodline-planning clash accepted by S1 trouble team, the key yield of Perfecting our international and Distri saveion Business caught my attention. Learned the word of honor that Macau Tai Fung billsbox implemented S1 beaching Solution to launched its online relying suffices, and found out that S1 opened an office in capital of Red China Chinas gravid city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1s management would homogeneous to dress further moves and impound the opportunity.Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese pecuniary agencies and i nstitutions, Chinese and exotic swans as salutary as other monetary institutions and divine divine service providers in China, Im quite familiar with Chinese pecuniary industry structure. Id like to re expend my knowledge and do this online research report. If S1 is resideed in expanding business in China, but not legislate what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer just about of your questions.The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report takes information covering Chinese tilling organisation structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online restitution operate in China, Chinese governments policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as nearly as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China.Naissance of Online pious platitudeing in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the world-class online support service in China through All in whizz Net, an online retribution method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the industrial and commercial message Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financial support function and to provide business cash in ones chips for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction.To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chinas online ban k transactions are expected to go on 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses.In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the clap of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a grant on face-to-face meeting for important business- associate matters, but the SARS crisis has obligate people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the premature stages of a vast transition from a handed-down cash and operate banking trunk where customers use the partes for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system.Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online busi nesses. The emergence of Online Banking Customers in China Chinas online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. issue 3. 1 The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping wages Methods in China.According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information heart (CNNIC), earnings online by attribute fluff and deposit card is beseeming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The handed-down retribution method of salary on words by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. reckon 3. 2 Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired alimony a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60.6% hope to go steady more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3 Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the meshing solutions provide clients with more impart to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost expertness, which are happen of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking work For more Chinese, banking in general is a saucily experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers.However, with add-on to the World Trade boldness (WTO), Chinas major banks having to face competition, the topical anesthetic players are increasingly comprehend their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. more and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attractiveness of Internet banking is reflected an attractive p roposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996.The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. whitethorn 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. declination 2000, ABC launched online banking service in strike called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen.The services offered include currency exchange, personal deterrent issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cas h sums. At the same time, China construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services.The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and commercial-grade Bank of China (ICBC) uncover a new platform for its personal online banking business BANKINGHOME. ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could despatch a key shift of the banks outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition.ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers to be bear upon by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and fo reign currency art as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4 Internet run provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com Chinese modify Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits connecter to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com Chinese modify incline Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on ascribe card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China plait Bank www. ccb-on-line. com Chinese change English Links to exchange rates, line of descent quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces impute card information.International operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury s ervices, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions orthogonal currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services personal banking, corporate Banking.Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained boon from the Peoples Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to some(prenominal) domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure acce ss to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web.Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has substantial an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers unhomogeneous payment and collections reports for clients to cypher or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients includeCitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibanks Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/ trade file int egration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients.Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and change Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market.Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource readiness (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages. Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time globose market information.Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of easterly Asia sure online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service.China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to Chinas large population, the countrys Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of Chinas economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in China.Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of Perfecting our International and Distribution Business caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing Chinas capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1s management would like to make fur ther moves and seize the opportunity.Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, Im quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. Id like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions.The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese government s policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China.Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through All in One Net, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction.To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Super vision sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chinas online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businessesIn 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation from a traditional cash and carry banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system.Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Chinas online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1 The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in ChinaAccording to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2 Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactio ns in their online services, 60.6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3 Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers.However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinas major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attrac tive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996.The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen.The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services.The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business BANKINGHOME. ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the banks outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition.ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency t rading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4 Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com Chinese Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency depositsLink to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com Chinese Simplified English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com Chinese Simplified English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information.International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services personal banking, corporate Banking.Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the Peoples Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 2 4 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web.Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients includeCitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibanks Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) repla ces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients.Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market.Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages. Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information.Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service.Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of Perfecting our Internat ional and Distribution Business caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing Chinas capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity.Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, Im quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. Id like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions.The main purpos e of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China.Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through All in One Net, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction.To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chinas online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses.In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation from a traditional cash and carry banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system.Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Chinas online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1 The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in ChinaAccording to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2 Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60.6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3 Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers.However, with ac cession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinas major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996.The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen.The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services.The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business BANKINGHOME. ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the banks outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition.ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4 Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com Chinese Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency depositsLink to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com Chinese Simplified English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com Chinese Simplified English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card informationInternational Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn Chinese Simplified Chinese Traditional English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services personal banking, corporate BankingInformation on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Serv ices Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the Peoples Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web.Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients includeCitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibanks Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients.Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market.Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages. Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information.Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign b anks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service.