A recent report on the evolution of the online banking environment in China indicates that the in the wake of a marked increase in online shopping, the popularity of online payments made from consumers' internet banking accounts has also increased.

Thus, data from the survey shows that in 2007 the Chinese online shopping market reached RMB56.1 billion (USD 8.3 billion), marking a 117.4 percent increase compared to the previous year. The study also reports that trade volumes of C2C and B2C online transactions registered 125.2 percent and 92.3 percent climbs respectively.

As a result, the value of both personal and corporate online banking transactions also rose significantly, marking a 163.1 percent increase compared to 2007.

The value of online payments performed from individual online banking accounts in China has increased three times compared to 2006, while in 2009 the percentage of personal online payments is expected to reach 10 percent of the total.

The research was conducted by Chinese market research company Market Avenue.