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Bank of China Issued First RMB Debit Card in Zambia

With the approval of the Central Bank of Zambia, on June 14, Bank of China issued the first RMB debit card in all of Africa. The debit card is branded under UnionPay, which is the dominant credit card issuer in China. The theory behind this move is that typical international traveler’s checks only support seven western currencies, which are not accepted by most Chinese businesses. UnionPay is widely accepted in China. Thus the new debit card benefits the African customers visiting China. Bank of China in Zambia was approved to offer full RMB based services in 2009. Its RMB services include RMB accounts and RMB cash. Since the services were made available to the public this past March, the Bank has received total deposits of RMB 50 Million.

Source: Xinhua, June 15, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2010-06/15/c_12224377.htm