Banks urged to be more vigilant about credit card applications

In one case she handled, two defendants succeeded in getting credit cards using a copy of a colleague's ID card. A bank employee saw one of the applicant's signatures was not the ID cardholder's, but approved the application anyway.

Wang Hai was convicted of getting a credit card using fake income and real-estate certificates at a bank in Dongcheng and then running up debt of more than 90,000 yuan ($14,500).

A bank worker named Zeng in Chaoyang even used his position to get a card in his mother's name to improve his work volume and get a bigger bonus, said Ye Ping, a prosecutor in the district.

"For some credit cards with large credit limits, banks pay great attention to applicants' information," said Li Shuang, an employee responsible for bank credit in a Beijing-based financial company. "But with the smaller limits, the process becomes careless, resulting in many unqualified applicants being approved."

Bank staff members' bonuses are tied to how much credit card businesses they get, which also leads them to care more about transaction speed and quantity than about quality, he said.

"Many banks didn't verify credit cards with small credit limits, such as 10,000 yuan, because there were so many applicants and they thought the smaller one wouldn't bring too much risk," Li said.

Although the credit card application needs residents to supply a great deal of personal information and documentation, the banks' negligence and carelessness during verification still provides opportunities for those looking to run up debt.

"In addition, the supervision by the regulatory commission is far from enough," he added.

Lu agreed, saying the banks should warn credit card applicants about the law and keep tabs on their clients' expenses.

"After all, more stringent verification can lower the rate of credit card fraud at the source," Lu said. "Banks should also remind clients to repay and assess clients' credit in line with their overdraft condition, keeping a loss from becoming larger. It's their duty."