The People's Bank of China (PBOC) began experimenting the National Check Image Exchange System (CIS) on Monday in six provinces and cities.

Instead of transferring a bank check itself, the CIS transmits an image of the check, transferring information to the bank where the check is deposited.

The six testing provinces or cities are Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai municipalities, North China's Hebei Province, South China's Guangdong Province and Shenzhen city.

The central bank plans to expand the use of CIS in China over the next six months. By June 2007, the system will be able to handle checks across the nation.

Su Ning, Deputy Governor of the PBOC, said the new system is a big step in modernizing China's payment system.

It will play an active role in economic development and advance the use of checks around the country.

According to statistics, 1.8 billion checks worth about 350 trillion yuan (44.87 trillion US dollars) were issued in China last year.