Consumer credit finance firm Aeon Credit Service (Asia) plans to expand beyond Hong Kong, although it says business conditions within the territory are steadily improving.
Aeon general manager Ban Pan Shu-pin said the company would launch its first credit card linked with the mainland's China UnionPay system in September.
Noting that spending on the mainland by its Hong Kong customers has increased tenfold over the past three years, Aeon believes this is the time to introduce a China credit card.
But unlike those issued by HSBC and the Bank of China, the Aeon UnionPay credit card will be denominated in Hong Kong dollars instead of yuan.
'We are focusing on Aeon's local Hong Kong customers and we just don't see the demand for a yuan-denominated card among them,' accounts control division general manager Gerald Fong Chung-leung said.
Mr Fong said Aeon would partner with 'brands that are popular in the mainland' to offer co-branded cards, although he declined to specify the brands.