The Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were recently deliberated and passed by the executive meeting and will come into force on May 1 next year. The Regulations cover the whole process of business development and regulatory responsibilities of non-bank payment institutions, including access permits, business rules, protection of rights and interests, and regulatory responsibilities. **According to the executive meeting, it is necessary to guide payment institutions to firmly establish the concept of "payment for the people", adhere to the purpose of small amount and convenience for the people, focus on the main business, improve services, and better meet the payment and settlement needs of users.
The Regulations clarify the definition and establishment license of non-bank payment institutions, implement access supervision based on the principle of "license before license", formulate establishment conditions from registered capital, major shareholders, governance structure, etc., and standardize the access requirements of institutions, which will help improve the overall service quality and comprehensive strength of the industry.
From the perspective of business substance, the Regulations divide the payment business into two categories: stored value account operation and payment transaction processing, which meets the needs of innovation and development of technology and business scenarios, and improves the flexibility and scalability of supervision. The Regulations also require non-bank payment institutions to improve their business management systems, have independent business systems, facilities and technologies, and clarify their responsibilities in terms of due diligence, order execution, clearing and reporting, and risk management. The payment account shall be opened in the user's real name, and the user's payment account shall be strictly bound to the real identity information, which will help avoid the use of false or other people's information.
In order to protect the rights and interests of users and strictly control information security, the "Regulations" propose that the terms of the agreement should be formulated in accordance with the principle of fairness, reasonably determine and disclose the business charging items and charging standards, and the content of the agreement should be fully solicited from users, and it can only be changed after 30 days of announcement in a prominent position, which will effectively put an end to the situation of "unclear charges", "arbitrary price increases" and "arbitrary deductions". In terms of information confidentiality, information processing and information sharing, the Regulations require that user information be kept strictly confidential, and information processing rules should be disclosed to ensure that information processing is in compliance with the law and risks are controllable. Users have sufficient right to know and choice, and can choose to authorize payment institutions to use the information.
The Regulations stipulate the ratio of net assets to the average daily balance of reserves, and the central bank shall identify systemically important non-bank payment institutions and implement effective supervision through hierarchical management, which will greatly improve the ability of payment institutions to serve users. At the same time, the punishment for violations of laws and regulations will be increased, and penalties will be imposed on practitioners involved in violations of laws and regulations, as well as directors, supervisors, and senior managers who are directly responsible, and those who are serious will be prohibited from engaging in business.
The non-bank payment industry plays an important role in the current economic development process, and the "Regulations" standardize the business requirements and business rules, which will help rectify the illegal operation chaos in the industry, create an ecological environment of survival of the fittest and healthy competition, lay a solid foundation for the compliance operation and healthy and orderly development of the industry, and help promote the high-quality development of the payment industry.
At the same time, the Regulations are also an important achievement in the construction of the rule of law in the supervision of non-bank payments, which supplement the relevant provisions on non-bank payment institutions in the legal system, strictly stipulate the standards and responsibilities of administrative penalties, and effectively improve the regulatory legal level of non-bank payment institutions.
With the development of the industry, the regulatory rules also need to be constantly updated and iterative, which will help improve the efficiency of financial supervision, and the "Regulations" strengthen the supervision of the whole chain and the whole cycle of the non-bank payment industry, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the regulatory system, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of users, and preventing and resolving potential risks in the industry. Peng Yuchao, Sun Minghong.