(Yicai Global) July 13 -- Several Chinese banks, including Bank of China, are tightening their credit card risk management.

Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank and Bank of Guangzhou joined BoC by issuing statements since last month to inform the public about their credit card policy updates, including lowering credit limits, monitoring abnormal transactions, and refraining from offering services to clients with rising risks, Securities Daily reported today.

The changes may be prompted by the increasing defaults. In the first quarter, some CNY1.09 trillion (USD168.6 billion) worth of credit card principal had been overdue for 181 days or more across China, rising by 6.4 percent from a quarter earlier, according to the central bank.

Such cards are becoming increasingly popular. The number of credit cards and debit-cum-credit cards edged up 0.85 percent to 784 million in the first three months of this year, the People's Bank of China added.

The strengthening management targets cardholders with bad intentions and high risks, said Yu Baicheng, head of research at 01Caijing. The Big Data-aided measures should not affect clients with good credit records who only use borrowed money for daily consumption, he added.

Supervision to avoid illegal withdrawals and money laundering will be stricter as at the core, credit cards should be about consumption, said Wang Pengbo, senior financial industry analyst at Chinese consultancy Best Known.

Banks should focus on preventing credit card funds from being used to repay debts, engage in loan fraud, or irrational consumption, said Chen Wen, research center director at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi