Looking back on the development of China's payment industry, it has successively started from cash payment (payment 10), bank card payment (payment 2.)0), mobile payment (payment 3.)0) and are moving towards digital payments (Payments 40) stage. With the leapfrog development of the payment industry, it is necessary to formulate special administrative regulations to further bring non-bank payment institutions and their business activities into the legal track for supervision.
On December 17, the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were officially promulgated, which will come into force on May 1, 2024, improving business rules and strengthening supervision. In addition, according to the first financial combing, the content of the "Regulations" also focuses on several aspects.
First, the business is divided into two categories. According to whether it can receive funds from the payer in advance, it is divided into two categories: stored value account operation and payment transaction processing.
The second is to expand the high-level opening up of the payment industry in an orderly manner, and treat domestic and foreign payment institutions equally. For example, if a domestic or foreign non-bank institution intends to provide cross-border payment services to domestic users, it shall establish a non-bank payment institution in China in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations.
The third is to better guide the industry to compete fairly. For example, it stipulates that non-bank payment institutions shall not engage in monopolistic or unfair competition acts.
Fourth, more emphasis is placed on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties. For example, non-bank payment institutions are required to fully disclose information in terms of payment agreements and business charges, and insist on protecting users' right to know and right to choose.
According to data from the People's Bank of China, as of the end of September 2023, there were 185 non-bank payment institutions in the country, and in 2022, more than 1 trillion payments were processed, with an amount of nearly 400 trillion yuan.
After the promulgation of the Regulations, how much impact will it have on the industry?A number of relevant persons in charge of payment institutions spoke out at the first time, involving not only head payment institutions, but also small and medium-sized payment institutions, including representatives of both private and foreign-funded payment institutions, releasing a heavy signal to the market.
Alipay. Consumer protection is an area of focus under the Regulations. Feng Qiao, deputy general manager of Alipay, said that Alipay will further strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of financial consumers, insist on incorporating financial consumer protection into corporate governance, corporate culture and business strategy, and solidly improve the level of financial consumer protection.
First, in terms of optimizing product design, the consumer's right to know, right to choose and sense of security are integrated into product design;Second, in terms of financial education and publicity, we will deepen the work of innovative consumer education, make full use of online advantages, and create a characteristic brand of inclusive educationIn addition, in order to achieve full-link long-term management and control of consumer protection risks, Alipay has independently developed the "Consumer Protection Shield" intelligent consumer protection inspection capability to realize automatic risk inspection, early warning and assessment of product activity pages, effectively fulfill the responsibility of protecting financial consumer entities and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Feng Qiao believes that the implementation of the "Regulations" has laid the foundation for the future development of payment institutions for healthy competition and standardized and healthy development. The regulations further strengthen the supervision of the whole chain and the whole cycle of payment institutions, which is conducive to preventing risks in the payment industry. At the same time, under the role of regulation, the payment industry will usher in further standardized and orderly development, which is also conducive to the long-term development of the real industry.
WeChat Pay (Tenpay).
Zheng Haojian, general manager of Tenpay, said that the promulgation of the "Regulations" has, on the one hand, improved the legal level of supervision of payment institutions, from the original departmental rules to administrative regulations, marking the fundamental regulations of the payment industry, which is conducive to strengthening industry supervision, improving regulatory efficiency, and establishing regulatory authorityOn the other hand, it conforms to the development and change trend of the payment service market, lays a solid foundation for standardizing the compliance operation of payment institutions, and points out the way for the high-quality development of payment services.
Zheng Haojian said that in the future, Tenpay will further deeply understand the important expositions and decision-making arrangements on financial work, firmly grasp the political and people's nature of financial work, and under the guidance of the financial management department, adhere to the purpose of small amount and convenience for the people, focus on the main business, improve services, better meet the payment and settlement needs of users, continuously improve the quality and efficiency of serving the real economy, and inject more value and vitality into the high-quality development of the economy and society.
Douyin (Hezhong Yibao).
Hezhong Yibao is a payment institution under Douyin Group. The relevant person in charge of Hezhong Yibao said that it can be expected that the "Regulations" will strengthen the supervision of the whole chain and the whole cycle of the non-bank payment industry, which is conducive to giving full play to the role of the law in guaranteeing the fundamentals, stabilizing expectations and benefiting the long-term of the industry, and empowering and escorting the high-quality development of the payment industry.
The above-mentioned person in charge said that he will adhere to the purpose of small amount and convenience for the people, improve the ability to serve the real economy and small and micro enterprises, focus on the main business, strengthen product innovation, and better meet the payment and settlement needs of users and merchants of Douyin Group. At the same time, it strengthens the awareness and ability of legal compliance and prudent operation, complies with regulatory requirements such as institutional management, reserve management, business management, risk monitoring and prevention, ensures the security of payment transaction data and funds, and effectively protects the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers. It will also assume the main responsibility for the prevention and control of fraud and anti-gambling risks, and strictly prevent payment platforms from being used to engage in illegal and criminal activities. It will uphold the principles of win-win cooperation, inclusiveness and openness, strengthen cooperation with banking financial institutions, clearing institutions and other non-bank payment institutions to promote mutual benefit and win-win results and healthy competition in the industry.
Meituan (Money Bag Treasure).
Qian Daibao is a payment institution under Meituan. Liu Xiaodong, general manager of Qian Daibao, said that the official promulgation and implementation of the "Regulations" is conducive to improving market expectations, enhancing development momentum, and the payment industry will develop in a healthier, more compliant and more sustainable direction.
Liu Xiaodong believes that the "Regulations" have built a perfect market-oriented mechanism from the aspects of access and exit, business rules, etc., improved the fairness and transparency of the market, maintained the order of fair competition, and promoted the healthy development of healthy competition and standardization in the industry.
He said that in the next step, Qian Daibao will consistently adhere to the purpose of small amount and convenience for the people, continue to improve the quality and efficiency of payment services, and continue to explore safer, faster, more stable and more inclusive payment services, so as to contribute to the development of the real economy and the people's livelihood. At the same time, we will adhere to the bottom line of compliance management, actively maintain the order of fair competition in the payment market, and work with all parties in the industry to contribute to the high-quality development of the payment industry and better meet the needs of the real economy.
PayPal
PayPal Pay is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PayPal in China. "PayPal Pay has strengthened its confidence in serving the Chinese market for a long time, giving full play to PayPal's global payment network, working with all parties in the industry to serve the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises to go overseas, improve the efficiency of cross-border financing, and make due contributions to the high-quality development of cross-border **." Qiu Han, CEO of PayPal Pay (Beijing)**, said.
Strict access to payment institutions is one of the important measures to ensure the development of the payment industry. In Qiu Han's view, the "Regulations" further improve and optimize the conditions and standards for the access of payment institutions, making them more scientific and standardized. This measure will help improve the strength and service quality of the entire industry, and provide more secure and reliable payment services for users and merchants.
ePay. The relevant person in charge of ePay said that the "Regulations" first complement the legal system of non-bank payment institutions in China's legal system, solve the problem of low legal level of supervision of non-bank payment institutions, and help improve the efficiency of supervisionSecond, the "Regulations" reclassify the business types of non-bank payment institutions according to the "business substance", which reflects the concept of functional supervision and is conducive to improving the professionalism and fairness of supervisionThird, the requirements of the "Regulations" for the whole life cycle management and business rules of payment institutions are conducive to guiding payment institutions to focus on their main business, better serve the real economy, and truly achieve "payment for the people".Fourth, the "Regulations" implement the principle of "two unswerving", and treat all types of payment institutions, regardless of business scale, state-owned and private, domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, equally, which is conducive to promoting fair competition in the payment industry.
The person in charge said that in the next step, ePay will, as always, adhere to the business development concept that compliance is productivity and competitiveness, and help merchants in digital transformation and lead the healthy and sustainable development of the payment industry based on its positioning as a payment expert in the industry.
China UnionPay. Xie Qunsong, executive vice president of China UnionPay, said that the "Regulations" clarify the business boundaries of non-bank payment institutions, and make it clear that non-bank payment institutions shall not directly or indirectly carry out clearing business, and the cross-institutional payment business initiated shall be handled by the clearing institution with corresponding legal qualifications, and the transaction information shall be submitted to the clearing institution in a true, accurate and complete manner, so as to ensure the integrity, consistency, traceability and non-tampering of electronic payment instructions in the whole process. It will help promote the return of the payment business to the four-party model centered on clearing institutions, ensure the security and transparency of transaction funds and information, promote the fair participation of all parties in the industry in market competition, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the payment service market.
Editor-in-charge: Chen Yuyao |Review: Li Zhen |Supervisor: Wan Junwei.
*: CBN).