BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China UnionPay and China's commercial banks have jointly unveiled a bank card designed for micro and small companies amid the government's call for giving more support to smaller businesses.

Fan Yife, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said at the launch ceremony that the bank card is the first of its kind to be made especially for small and micro-sized businesses, according to a statement posted on China UnionPay's website.

He called on commercial lenders and relevant industrial parties to beef up card services and expand the scope of cooperation to better serve the smaller businesses.

Shi Wenchao, president of China UnionPay, said in the next move, China UnionPay will launch innovative services by using big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to lower the financing costs for micro and small companies and expand their financing channels.

Established in 2002, China UnionPay is a financial services corporation based in Shanghai.