The non-cash payments handled by Chinese banks maintained steady growth in the third quarter of 2021, with mobile payments sustaining growth momentum, according to a central bank report.

Non-cash payments, involving bank cards, online payment vehicles, commercial papers, credit transfer and other settlements, stood at 1,109.19 trillion yuan (about 174 trillion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter, up 6.32 percent year on year, the People's Bank of China said in the report.

Of the total, mobile payments sustained an upward trend to 126.81 trillion yuan, up 8.62 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, online payments gained 6.45 percent year on year to 587.21 trillion yuan, the report showed.

In the third quarter, bank card transactions climbed 6.45 percent from a year ago to hit 250.93 trillion yuan, according to the report.