TAIPEI: Shops and services expect another potential business boom under a new cross-Straits accord that effectively lifts the spending limit for mainland visitors. Starting tomorrow, mainland visitors can use their China UnionPay Co bank cards in Taiwan. The policy change is aimed at increasing spending by mainland tourists to give a boost to local companies, shops and services, the Taipei-based "National Credit Card Center" (NCCC) announced yesterday.

NCCC General Manager Wong Kuang-hui noted that under present rules, mainland tourists may carry a maximum of only 20,000 yuan ($2,928) in cash when they visit Taiwan.

A joint announcement of the policy change will be made tomorrow, a year after Taiwan relaxed restrictions on visits by tourists from the mainland, he added.

China UnionPay is the mainland's only national electronic payment network, an umbrella network that covers more than 80 banking institutions. As the dominant player in the mainland's bank card industry, it has more than 1.8 billion cards in circulation. The cards are accepted in 61 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland.

A mainland UnionPay delegation led by the company's president, Xu Luode, arrived in Taipei yesterday for the announcement, which was made possible with the agreement of Taiwanese authorities.

Speaking on his second visit to Taiwan, Xu hailed Taiwan's decision to accept bank cards issued by China UnionPay.

"It will not only significantly help increase business volume on both sides, but will also mark a milestone in two-way financial cooperation and facilitate mainland visitors' spending in Taiwan," he said.

Delegation members included executives from major mainland banks such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications.

Officials from the Taiwan-based Chinatrust Commercial Bank, Taiwan's largest card issuer, have estimated that mainland tourists' spending volume in Taiwan is likely to hit NT$100 billion ($3.05 billion). The projection is based on 2 million tourist arrivals from the mainland per year, spending an average of 10,000 yuan.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 08/06/2009 page2)