BEIJING, Jan. 29 -- China lifted its overseas online transaction limit from 10,000 U.S. dollars to 50,000 dollars in an effort to support cross-border e-commerce, according to the foreign exchange regulator on Thursday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is piloting a program to allow cross-border foreign exchange payment services to facilitate overseas e-commerce transactions.

Payment companies are allowed to open more foreign exchange accounts, but they have to register first and keep transaction information for five years so SAFE can perform regular checks.

China piloted the cross-border foreign exchange payment institutions in Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Zhejiang and Shenzhen in 2013 to serve the growing demand for overseas online shopping.

The trade volume in China's cross-border e-commerce pilot cities surpassed 3 billion yuan (489.12 million U.S. dollars) by the end of 2014, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The Ministry of Commerce expected the trade volume to grow to 6.5 trillion yuan in 2016, with an average annual growth of over 30 percent.