China launches 'super online banking'

BEIJING, CHINA: China's central bank has started a "super online banking system" that would allow customers to access any number of accounts through a single website.

The People's Bank of China has started an "online payment inter-bank clearing system", which supports real-time inter-bank transfers and inter-bank balance inquiries, China Daily reported.

The banking system links online different commercial banks and enables customers to access multiple accounts on a single website.

Before the launch of the new system, customers had to log on to different banks' websites to manage their accounts, and inter-bank transfers usually took one or two days.

The charges for the new system have not been finalized.

At present, commercial banks in China charge different fees for inter-bank transfers.

The "super online banking system" will surely increase banks' efficiency in the long run, said Guo Tianyong, head of the China Banking Research Center at the Central University of Finance and Economics.