SHANGHAI, May 21 -- After numerous complaints from long-suffering, and long-waiting, customers, China is in the process of streamlining its banking system.

Domestic banks will soon allow people to draw up to 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) from automatic teller machines in a day.

The new daily maximum limit is a vast increase on the present ceiling of 5,000 yuan, the People's Bank of China said in a circular published on its Website yesterday.

The 5,000-yuan maximum was set up by the central bank 10 years ago.

This amount no longer satisfies many people's daily cash demands as the country's economic boom shows no sign of waning.

The PBOC said money-withdrawal limits on credit cards will remain unchanged.

The central bank believes the 20,000-yuan ATM ceiling will help cut waiting time for customers at bank outlets. An unidentified official from the central bank confirmed that complaints about bank queues have been frequent.

Raising the daily ceiling for cash via ATMs will take a lot of the pressure off tellers, the official said.

The central bank urges commercial banks to encourage credit card users to return money through transfers between accounts rather than by paying cash, according to the circular.

The PBOC conducted a survey and found it a major issue that credit card payment through cross-bank transfers is a such difficult procedure. Most credit card holders usually draw money from their debit card accounts and then put the money in their credit card account to finish repayments.

The central bank wants commercial banks to encourage credit card users to link their credit account to their debit card or savings account and set up an automatic repayment facility. Customers can still set this up even if they have different accounts at different banks.

Commercial banks are also encouraged to promote non-cash payment vehicles, such as personal checks and cashier's checks.

The central bank official said they found many residents withdraw a large amount of cash from one bank and save it in another in transactions to buy things like a car, a house or invest in a fund. Moving cash from one account to another is a waste of human resources and a possible threat to the money's safety.

Personal checks and cashier's checks are alternative payment tools, the official said.

The PBOC also pledged to enable people to pay for public utilities, such as water, electricity, gas and telephone services, via their accounts in any bank.

People now have to make the payments to banks designated by the service providers.

The central bank also requires commercial banks to roll out measures to facilitate transfers between accounts and cross-bank transfers and to improve across-the-counter services.