Caixin Explains: What China’s New Credit Card Rules Mean for Banks and Customers

Chinese banks are being required to overhaul their credit card operations for the first time in a decade as regulators work to clean up consumer lending, control risks and give better protection to borrowers.

New rules released and implemented in July impose tighter supervision on a sector that’s become an increasingly important part of lenders’ business and income. Some 800 million credit cards and credit-debit cards, had been issued as of end-2021, almost double the number at the end of 2015, central bank data show. Chinese consumers had outstanding credit card loans of 8.5 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) at the end of March, the latest figures show.