Nov 11, 2009, 7:00pm

Earlier today in Beijing, the ICBC Mobile Payment American Express® Card, China’s first dual-currency credit card with mobile account payment capabilities and features, was officially launched by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Union Mobile Pay (UMPay) and American Express.

ICBC is the largest commercial bank in the world by assets and profitability, and the largest credit card issuer in China. The ICBC Mobile Payment American Express Card combines the leading credit card platform of ICBC, the advanced mobile e-commerce services of UMPay (a leading mobile payments company in China), and the global merchant network and marketing resources of American Express. The Card signals a new era of collaboration among banks, mobile payment providers and credit card organizations, and will provide unparalleled levels of integration, efficiency and control for Chinese consumers.

The new Card leverages the “anywhere-and-anytime” advantages of mobile phones and the payment advantages of credit cards to provide consumers with secure, convenient, and flexible online, offline, and mobile payment options.

After designating their mobile phone number to their credit card account and activating their mobile payment function, Cardmembers can select merchants accepting mobile payments from their mobile phones, and authorize their payments for digital downloads, utilities, and other online and offline goods. The transactions will be automatically charged to their ICBC Mobile Payment American Express Card accounts. Cardmembers can choose to settle their charges in either US dollar or Renminbi and they don’t have to pay those charges until they receive their credit card statement.

“ICBC is the biggest commercial bank in China, and we continue to reinvent our products and services to meet the changing needs of our customers,” said Luan Jian Sheng, President and Head of Card Center from ICBC. “ICBC has issued more than 50 million credit cards and is the leading credit card brand in China. By integrating the respective advantages of ICBC, American Express and UMPay, we are able to bring our success in the credit card business to new heights by providing advanced and more convenient payment products to consumers in China.”

“As a leading global merchant acquirer and worldwide payment network, American Express believes emerging payments will provide significant potential going forward. We intend to remain active in this space,” said Kula Kulendran, American Express Executive Vice President and Head of Global Network Services in Japan, Asia Pacific and Australia.

“China has the largest mobile phone subscriber population in the world, and we are delighted to work with ICBC and UMPay to develop new mobile payment opportunities in this market. The launch of this new Card marks a new milestone for American Express in China. It will bring a new transaction channel, a new marketing tool and, ultimately, all new potential for the business growth of merchants throughout China. We look forward to a long-term, successful partnership,” added Kulendran.

“With mobile handset users in China fast approaching 700 million, mobile e-commerce has been a growing consumer need and market trend in China,” said Zhang Bin, General Manager of UMPay. “Convenient, prompt, and reliable mobile payment is a pre-requisite for the development of mobile e-commerce. UMPay has market leading infrastructure and know-how in China’s mobile e-commerce market. We fully expect the new ICBC Mobile Payment American Express Card to play an important role in the country’s mobile payment and e-commerce markets.”

About Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

ICBC is the largest wholesale and retail bank in China by assets and deposits and is a market leader in many business areas including corporate and personal loans, deposits, mortgages, e-banking, custodian services and inter-bank clearing. It provides a wide range of commercial banking services to corporate and individual customers. ICBC has approximately 16,000 outlets and employs 382,000 people across China. It had total assets of RMB 11.43 trillion at the end of June, 2009.

About Union Mobile Pay

UMPay is a joint venture founded in August 2003 by China Mobile and China UnionPay. UMPay specializes in mobile payment, providing China Mobile subscribers with innovative payment products such as Mobile Wallet and the Financial Message Service, and allows merchants to enjoy broader, faster and easier payment channels.

About American Express

American Express Company is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850. Since 1996, American Express has been pursuing a strategy of opening its merchant network and card product portfolio to third party issuers around the world. By leveraging its global infrastructure and the powerful appeal of the brand, American Express has gained even broader reach for its network worldwide. American Express has now established 131 partnerships in 130 markets across the world.