BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese banks posted robust growth in mobile payments in the first quarter of this year, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

Banking institutions handled 70.8 trillion yuan (11.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in mobile payments in the period, up 16.8 percent year on year, the central bank data showed.

Around 10.7 billion payments were made through the banks' mobile services in the first quarter, an increase of 17.8 percent year on year, the PBOC said.

China's mobile payment sector has seen rapid development, driven by improved Internet infrastructure, increased use of mobile phones and innovation of financial services.

In the first quarter, bank card transactions in China rose 12.6 percent from a year earlier to 220.8 trillion yuan, while the number of bank cards in use went up 4.8 percent to 7 billion by the end of March, according to the PBOC.