Caution over online payments

Debit and credit card owners are generally more cautious about online payment, which is booming in China, compared with offline transactions, according to a latest survey about payment behavior.

More than 80 percent of respondents spend an average of over 500 yuan each month this year for online purchases, up from 65 percent two years ago, according to an online survey done by the Ministry of Public Security through China UnionPay.

The survey, covering nearly 170,000 consumers in 31 provincial areas, also revealed that younger online shoppers are more willing to use online banking services while half of those over 50 years old prefer mobile point of sales machines when paying for online orders.

Information leaking and Internet phishing — which involves using a fake webpage to steal card owners' confidential financial information — were the top two safety concerns of card owners when they conduct online purchases, according to the survey.