(ECNS) -- Publicly listed banks in China have relatively poor scores for their smartphone apps rolled out to compete with online financial services, Securities Daily reported on Tuesday.
Among 16 apps offered by listed Chinese banks, only three achieved 3-star ratings on Apple's AppStore. Eleven banks scored lower than 3 stars on the 5-star scale and two have no results that show up in the list.
A number of users commented that they would have to cancel their bank cards or switch to other services if apps don't improve in quality.
China's five biggest commercial banks announced on Feb 25 that they would no longer charge fees on domestic yuan transfers through cellphones, including inter-bank transactions.
But many mobile payment apps have so far failed to satisfy users. One complained of repeated failures in transferring money. Others called for banks to improve their response to inquiries.
In comparison, apps for Alipay, the online payment affiliate of China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group Ltd, and China's first Internet-based bank WeBank scored 4 and 5-star ratings.
