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On October 8, China UnionPay released the consumption data of UnionPay cards during the National Day Holiday of 2015 (from October 1 to October 7, same hereinafter). The total volume of inter-bank transaction by UnionPay cards reached 646.9 billion Yuan, and the total number of transaction exceeded 500 million, with a year-on-year growth of 25.4% and 19.5% respectively. In addition, the year-on-year growth of the volume and number of overseas offline transaction by UnionPay cards is 17% and 24% respectively.
In 2015, the Mid-autumn Festival is shortly before the National Day. Therefore, quite a few people choose to have an “extra-long golden week holiday” by taking annual leaves. Influenced by this phenomenon, the consumption data of card usage witnessed some changes. As Chen Han, a data analyst from China UnionPay, observes, “Firstly, the increase of holiday consumption appeared earlier, but of course October 1st still is the peak day of holiday consumption, with a transaction volume that broke the single-day transaction record in recent years. Secondly, people are more willing to travel during long holidays. During the National Day holiday this year, the number of people using UnionPay cards in places other than their hometown had a year-on-year growth of 41%, twice as much as the increase of total number of people using cards”.
According to the consumption data of each industry, during the holiday, the amount of money people spent on shopping was the biggest. However, tourism spending witnessed the most remarkable increase. During the holiday, the money spent on shopping using bankcards took up the greatest proportion of daily consumption, with a total volume exceeding 100 billion Yuan and a year-on-year growth of 30%. To this increase, supermarkets shopping, white goods and general merchandises consumption made great contributions, with a year-on-year growth of 65%, 36% and 12% respectively.
According to the transaction data of tourism, during the National Day holiday, the total transaction volume by bankcards in highway, railway and aviation traveling witnessed a year-on-year growth of 70%, among which the growth in highway traveling consumption is the biggest one, reaching 179%, and gas consumption closely related to self-driving traveling had a year-on-year growth of 33%. The transaction volume by bankcards in travel agencies and scenic spots had a year-on-year growth of 41%, among which the tickets consumption in scenic spots in Xinjiang was 3.4 times of that of last year, which is the biggest increase nationwide. In addition, due to people’s travelling and gathering, the catering spending by UnionPay cards had a year-on-year growth of 6.6%, basically flat compared with that of the corresponding period of last year, while the spending of each transaction decreased by 5% on average.
As for overseas card usage, short-distance outbound tourism destinations such as Japan, Korea and Thailand are favored by Chinese tourists. Meanwhile, as many people enjoyed a longer holiday by taking annual leave, and also with the continual improvement of acceptance environment of UnionPay cards in Europe and America, the transaction volume in principal European countries, such as France and Italy, also had substantial increases. Data also shows that, during the holiday, the overseas transaction volume of UnionPay cards in department stores, supermarkets and restaurants increased remarkably, which to some extent reflects that the optimization of network and the improvement of service of UnionPay have met the payment demands of Chinese outbound tourists who wish to experience the local life style. Moreover, a lot of cardholders prefer to share their experience of using UnionPay cards safely and conveniently abroad. For instance, it is very convenient to use UnionPay cards in Japanese and Korean convenience stores. Many overseas merchants offer exclusive privileges and services to UnionPay cardholders. Cardholders are also able to use UnionPay cards for payment in Africa and Dubai.
In 2015, the Mid-autumn Festival is shortly before the National Day. Therefore, quite a few people choose to have an “extra-long golden week holiday” by taking annual leaves. Influenced by this phenomenon, the consumption data of card usage witnessed some changes. As Chen Han, a data analyst from China UnionPay, observes, “Firstly, the increase of holiday consumption appeared earlier, but of course October 1st still is the peak day of holiday consumption, with a transaction volume that broke the single-day transaction record in recent years. Secondly, people are more willing to travel during long holidays. During the National Day holiday this year, the number of people using UnionPay cards in places other than their hometown had a year-on-year growth of 41%, twice as much as the increase of total number of people using cards”.
According to the consumption data of each industry, during the holiday, the amount of money people spent on shopping was the biggest. However, tourism spending witnessed the most remarkable increase. During the holiday, the money spent on shopping using bankcards took up the greatest proportion of daily consumption, with a total volume exceeding 100 billion Yuan and a year-on-year growth of 30%. To this increase, supermarkets shopping, white goods and general merchandises consumption made great contributions, with a year-on-year growth of 65%, 36% and 12% respectively.
According to the transaction data of tourism, during the National Day holiday, the total transaction volume by bankcards in highway, railway and aviation traveling witnessed a year-on-year growth of 70%, among which the growth in highway traveling consumption is the biggest one, reaching 179%, and gas consumption closely related to self-driving traveling had a year-on-year growth of 33%. The transaction volume by bankcards in travel agencies and scenic spots had a year-on-year growth of 41%, among which the tickets consumption in scenic spots in Xinjiang was 3.4 times of that of last year, which is the biggest increase nationwide. In addition, due to people’s travelling and gathering, the catering spending by UnionPay cards had a year-on-year growth of 6.6%, basically flat compared with that of the corresponding period of last year, while the spending of each transaction decreased by 5% on average.
As for overseas card usage, short-distance outbound tourism destinations such as Japan, Korea and Thailand are favored by Chinese tourists. Meanwhile, as many people enjoyed a longer holiday by taking annual leave, and also with the continual improvement of acceptance environment of UnionPay cards in Europe and America, the transaction volume in principal European countries, such as France and Italy, also had substantial increases. Data also shows that, during the holiday, the overseas transaction volume of UnionPay cards in department stores, supermarkets and restaurants increased remarkably, which to some extent reflects that the optimization of network and the improvement of service of UnionPay have met the payment demands of Chinese outbound tourists who wish to experience the local life style. Moreover, a lot of cardholders prefer to share their experience of using UnionPay cards safely and conveniently abroad. For instance, it is very convenient to use UnionPay cards in Japanese and Korean convenience stores. Many overseas merchants offer exclusive privileges and services to UnionPay cardholders. Cardholders are also able to use UnionPay cards for payment in Africa and Dubai.
