Beijing, Sep 21 (Xinhua) China's banking industry will face a number of challenges to improve its services during the 2008 Olympic Games as millions of tourists are expected to spend billions of dollars during the event.

Domestic tourists are likely to spend 215 billion yuan ($26.88 billion) during the Olympic Games while overseas tourists will pump $4.5 billion into the Beijing economy, said an official with the international exhibition on banking technology and equipment here.

Liu Yongchun, vice president of China Unionpay, a national bank card payment network, said foreign tourists and athletes should not have a problem in using their bank cards in 2008.

He said bank cards would be accepted by 90 percent of the merchants near Olympic venues and 90 percent of hotels and scenic spots.

Currently, only a limited number of Chinese banks are authorised to accept foreign bank cards at their automated tellers.

Bank of China (BOC), an official partner of the Beijing Olympics, was approved by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to provide services to foreign organisations and individual clients during the Olympics.

Hua Qingshan, vice president of BOC, said his bank is the only financial institution in China authorised to open temporary accounts for qualified legal persons.

BOC was also commissioned by the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee (BOCOG) to sell event tickets and authorised Olympic products, Hua added.