Agricultural Bank of China signs up to Planet Payment’s 'Pay in Your Currency' Service

Planet Payment, an international multi-currency payment and data processor, has signed an agreement with the Agricultural Bank of China to provide Planet Payment’s “Pay in Your Currency” service to the Bank’s customers in the People’s Republic of China. ABC, one of the “big four” state-owned Chinese banks, intends to launch the service in Shanghai before year end.

“Pay in Your Currency” provides customers using Visa or MasterCard payment cards with a choice of currencies in which to complete their purchases. This means that tourists and business travellers know how much they are paying in their home currency at the point of purchase and no longer have to wait until they return home to discover their transactions’ actual cost.

The rapid growth in international travel in China and the corresponding increase in credit card usage presents an excellent opportunity for the “Pay in Your Currency” service. According to statistics recently released by Visa, international purchases made by Visa cards in China totaled US$1.76 billion in the first half of 2007, which is almost 20% more than in the same period in 2006.

The increase in international travel is expected to continue to rise for the foreseeable future, with the Pacific Asia Travel Association estimating that the total number of international arrivals in China will grow an average of 5% per year through 2009, when China can expect a total of 146 million foreign visitors. In addition, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai are expected to draw a significant number of foreign travellers to the region.

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