Wal-Mart, GE Join Growing Chinese Credit Card Industry

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

America’s beleaguered super-store and the recently chastised GE Corp are joining forces and the race for a share of China's growing consumer credit market by issuing their own credit card this week, a Wal-Mart spokesman said Tuesday.

Consumer credit cards are a bit a of “new thing” for China, and its credit card industry is booming as issuers jump into the market in hopes of tapping growing consumer spending and Beijing eases restrictions on their operations.

The number of credit cards in China topped 12 million at the end of last year, up from 3 million just two years earlier, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Chinese banks also have started issuing their own cards, usually with foreign help. Those that have taken on foreign banks as strategic investors cite expertise with credit cards as a key reason for seeking them out as partners.

The new card from Wal-Mart and GE will be dual-currency, meaning holders can charge purchases in China's currency, the yuan, or a foreign currency such as the U.S. dollar.

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