On May 5, 2015, ICBC announced the launch of HCE cloud payment credit card with China UnionPay and VISA, the first commercial bank to do so in Asia. The HCE credit card by ICBC and China UnionPay was issued for the first time in the world.

According to an ICBC official, HCE cloud payment credit card is a brand new financial service launched by ICBC based on mobile internet in response to "Internet Plus" trend, representing the cutting-edge payment innovation. For card holders, HCE cloud payment credit card facilitates convenient and quick online & offline "instant" payment service. The credit card is like a supplementary credit card and the card holder can log into ICBC mobile banking and register for HCE cloud payment credit card service by clicking "Cloud Payment" icon with an Android phone having NFC function,without the need to change mobile phone or SIM card, or apply for a new credit card. For offline consumption with the credit card, the customer only needs to enable NFC function to light up mobile phone screen and swipe the mobile phone over POS terminal. A beep indicates the completion of payment. For online consumption, customers can enjoy One-click Payment by just binding the credit card with "ICBC e-Payment", clicking "Confirm Payment" in online shopping and inputting the payment password. For merchants, the acceptance of ICBC HCE cloud payment credit card does not require replacement of POS terminal, and would greatly enhance the collection efficiency, gain customer loyalty and attract more fashion-forward customers with active spending, sound credit and frequent use of mobile internet applications.

Host-card emulation (HCE) is a technology to issue bank cards with mobile APP analog chip. By leveraging IT strength, ICBC has established a cloud server to store a large volume of bank card account information, and become the first bank to adopt Token in China, which is saved in customers’ mobile APP as a replacement of bank card, facilitating the instant interaction between cloud server and mobile phone and the issuance of cloud payment credit card, key downloading and ID verification without issuing physical cards or displaying authentic card information in the  mobile phone.

In mobile payment security, a key concern of customers, ICBC HCE cloud payment credit card has been equipped with multiple security defense lines and bank-level (the highest level) risk control, ensuring the security of transactions. First, Token generation and dynamic key in ICBC cloud server can protect customer information during the Internet transmission. Second, with ICBC "Cloud Verification", online transaction information can be transmitted to ICBC cloud server, and verification of payment Token and dynamic key can be conducted online in a real-time manner, which can better prevent the card risk compared with the "offline transaction" mode of traditional non-contact payment. Third, ICBC has built up an advanced real-time monitoring and intervention system based on big data-visualization technology and has limited single transaction with HCE cloud payment credit card within RMB5,000, thus ensuring the security of high-value transaction.

ICBC is the largest credit card issuer in Asia, and the third in the world. In December 2014, ICBC became the first bank in China that issued over 100 million credit cards, with the credit card consumption volume and activeness leading the industry in China. In terms of Internet finance, ICBC has established an online & offline Internet financial service system integrating five functions including payment, financing, financial transaction, commerce and information, which has provided more room for product and service innovation and promoted financial service and customer experience.