Cash withdrawals dwindling in China as mobile payments grow

For the first time, cash withdrawals using bank cards fell in volume in China, as the world's second largest economy enters a cashless society with mobile payments growing in popularity.
About 65.5 trillion yuan (USD 9.51 trillion) was withdrawn using bank cards last year, down 10.46 per cent year on year, a report from the Payment & Clearing Association of China (PCAC) showed today.
The growth rate of payment via bank cards has fallen for three consecutive years, due to sluggish growth of large- volume transactions and increasing use of mobile payments, such as paying by screening a barcode, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Suzhen, deputy secretary with the PCAC as saying.

Meanwhile, online payment grew fast, with non-banking payment platforms seeing their business volume more than double in 2016.
The Chinese people also tend to use mobile terminals more than computers to pay online, the report showed.
Chinese mobile payment giants have been encouraging a cashless society. Earlier this month, Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial said it planned to spend 6 billion yuan in the next two years to push forward the drive.