(Yicai Global) Oct. 9 -- China's cross-bank transaction volume hit a new high for the week-long National Holiday period this year, data from the country's largest bank card provider shows.

Users moved some CNY1.6 trillion (USD0.2 trillion) in transactions through China UnionPay over the holiday which lasted from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7., representing a near one-third surge on last year's holiday which also lasted one day longer, the Shanghai-based financial services giant said in a statement.

The 31 percent growth was driven by the company's promotion of its Mobile QuickPass app. Launched last December in conjunction with several commercial lenders, the app allows contactless payments and has boosted product visibility for the company. The service's increased acceptance in overseas markets also boosted the figures. The number and value of average daily transactions increased nearly seven times and 36-times on last year's holiday, respectively.

UnionPay did not confirm the average number of transactions made by scanning QR codes, which is a key indicator of mobile payment performance. Tencent's WeChat Pay and Ant Financial's Alipay, the industry leaders, both use QR codes to facilitate mobile payments.

Editors: William Clegg