Chinese online payment clearinghouse NetsUnion and card payment giant China UnionPay reported record online payments during the May Day holiday as people splurged on travel, catering and accommodation.
During the five-day holiday that concluded on Wednesday, online payments via the two platforms hit a record high of 6.97 trillion yuan (about 1.07 trillion U.S. dollars), data from the two platforms show.
NetsUnion processed more than 8.53 billion online payment transactions worth 5.06 trillion yuan during the holiday, and transactions via China UnionPay totaled 1.91 trillion yuan, up 5.5 percent year on year.
Spending in the catering sector surged by more than 30 percent, and hotels and shopping malls also saw increased numbers of visitors.
The cultural and entertainment sectors saw robust growth, with online payments related to film, television and other entertainment surging 161 percent year on year during the holiday, data from NetsUnion shows.
