Banks in China face tougher scrutiny of credit card issuance under new China Banking Regulatory Commission regulations to curb misuse in the card market.
Under the new regulations, institutions no longer may issue credit cards to minors younger than 18 except as a supplementary card tied to a family member’s bank account. Issuers also may cap such cardholders’ spending after consulting with the teen’s parents.
The commission also mandated that banks teach young cardholders how to use credit cards. It also ordered issuers not to charge any fees on nonactivated credit cards and to set up individual contracts with cardholders who have acceptable reasons for missing payments.
The commission released the new rules in conjunction with the Feb. 3 start of the Chinese Spring Festival. Banks have been known to launch intensive card-related promotions during this period that have included some questionable policies that disregard cardholders’ interests, the commission noted in a statement.
Commercial banks in China had issued approximately 210 million credit cards in the country as of the end of December.
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