[Summary].In order to solve the problem of inconvenience for some foreigners to pay in China, the central bank has established a special working mechanism in conjunction with relevant departments, and formulated a solution of "large-value card swiping, small-amount code scanning, and cash pocketing".
Wen Tang County
Edited by Zhang Wei and Yuan Man
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has established a special working mechanism to enhance the convenience of foreign people to pay in China.
On the afternoon of December 28, Zhang Qingsong, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, introduced at the regular policy briefing on the "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") held by the State Council Information OfficeThe central bank, in conjunction with relevant departments, has established a special working mechanism and formulated a solution of "large-amount card swiping, small-amount code scanning, and cash pocketing"., and then focus on promoting the implementation of relevant work.
In addition to the above, at the briefing, the relevant persons in charge of the central bank and the Ministry of Justice gave a detailed introduction to the relevant situation of the promulgation of the "Regulations".
On November 24, the ** executive meeting deliberated and passed the above-mentioned "Regulations", which will be officially implemented on May 1, 2024. The "Regulations" have a total of 60 articles in six chapters, and the content mainly includes four major aspectsThe first is to clarify the definition and establishment license of non-bank payment institutions;The second is to improve the rules of payment business;The third is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of users;Fourth, clarify regulatory responsibilities and legal responsibilities.
According to Zhang Qingsong, the "Regulations" are applicable to payment institutions that mainly provide small-amount and convenient services. According to statistics, the annual number of transactions of these institutions is about 1 trillion yuan, and the average transaction amount of each transaction is 330 yuan. They are closely related to the business activities of business entities and the daily life of the public, and it is of great significance to establish a stable and adequate supervision and management framework for them.
Scan code payment and mobile payment are the 'business cards' that we are proud of, and an important embodiment of high-quality development, which is a new solution brought by scientific and technological progress and industry development to business entities and the public, which is a good thing. But in the process of rapid development, some problems and risks have arisen. Zhang Qingsong said"I understand the starting point and end point of the Regulations: first, to ensure that payment institutions operate in accordance with the law;Second, adhere to the purpose of small amount and convenience for the people;The third is to ensure healthy competition and vitality. ”
It is convenient for foreigners to pay in China
With the development of mobile payment, cashless payment has been integrated into the daily life of Chinese residents, but some foreigners who are accustomed to bank cards and cash payments have encountered a lot of inconvenience when coming to China.
Recently, some foreigners have reported on social platforms that there are obstacles in the use of mobile payment after coming to China, mainly because domestic bank cards must be bound when using mobile payment tools in China, and the payment scene is relatively limited after the binding of international bank cards, which has attracted attention from the outside world, and related topics have once appeared on the hot search.
At the site of the regular policy briefing, there were also questions about the relevant situation.
The central bank attaches great importance to this and has made a careful analysis of the causes of the problem. Zhang Qingsong saidThe inconvenience of some overseas visitors to China is largely due to the fact that their payment habits are different at different stages. Domestic residents are very accustomed to mobile payment, but many overseas people in China, especially those from Europe and the United States, are still accustomed to using bank cards and cash.
In order to bridge the inconvenience caused by the difference in payment habits at home and abroad, the central bank, together with relevant departments, has established a special working mechanism, issued guiding opinions, and is organizing all units to advance various tasks in an orderly manner.
According to Zhang Qingsong, the solution to facilitate the payment of foreigners in China can be summarized as:"Large-amount card swiping, small-amount code scanning, cash pocket".
"Large-value card swiping" refers to improving the acceptance environment for overseas bank cards. Zhang Qingsong said that the central bank has organized all branches to find out the acceptance of outdoor cards for domestic businesses, and together with the departments of commerce, culture and tourism, delineate key business districts, airports, railway stations and other major foreign-related places, guide commercial banks and payment institutions, and accelerate the opening of foreign card acceptance by key merchants.
small-amount code scanning", that is, enriching the product supply of mobile payment. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has instructed Alipay, Tenpay (WeChat Pay), China UnionPay and other institutions to launch products such as "External Card Binding and Internal Use", "Outsourcing and Internal Use" and "UnionPay Travel Card", and innovated and developed digital RMB solutions to meet the mobile payment needs of overseas visitors to China.
"Cash Reserve", that is, to improve the environment for the use of cash, organize banks to carry out ATM (automatic teller machine) foreign card acceptance transformation, improve the coverage rate of ATMs that support foreign card cash withdrawal, and continue to carry out special rectification work for rejecting RMB cash.
In July 2023, WeChat Pay and Alipay both announced the upgrade of foreign card (international bank card) payment services, allowing overseas users to directly bind overseas bank cards and use mobile payment services in most domestic consumption scenarios. Subsequently, China UnionPay issued an operation guide for foreigners to pay in China, which supports the use of UnionPay overseas wallets to bind UnionPay cards issued overseas to scan QR codes in China. The e-CNY app has also launched a "charge before use" function for foreign cards, making it easier for foreigners to pay in China.
In addition to the above three solutions, the central bank also continues to optimize account servicesGuide banks to implement classified and hierarchical management of accounts, optimize the account opening process, and improve the level of convenience for overseas visitors to China to open bank accounts in need.
Modern payment has become a beautiful 'business card' to show China's high-quality development. Zhang Qingsong said, "In the next step, the central bank will work with relevant departments to give full play to the role of the special working mechanism, and continue to promote the acceptance of foreign cards, mobile payment, cash use, account services, publicity and promotion in accordance with the established work plan and goals, so as to further improve the payment facilitation of overseas people coming to China." ”
Strengthen the protection of users' rights and interests
The protection of the legitimate rights and interests of users is one of the main contents of the Regulations.
According to Wang Sheng, head of the Payment and Settlement Department of the People's Bank of China, compared with the Administrative Measures for Payment Services of Non-Financial Institutions (hereinafter referred to as "Order No. 2") issued in 2010, the Regulations further emphasize the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of users.
In recent years, individual payment institutions have leaked user information and misappropriated user funds. Wang Sheng said that in response to the above-mentioned behavior, the "Regulations" clarify the principle of fairness of payment service agreements and prevent "overlord clauses";Strengthen the management of reserves to protect the safety of users' funds and property;Clarify the principles of user information processing, and protect users' right to know and right to choose;In particular, supervision and management have been strengthened, and the legal liability of payment institutions for violations of laws and regulations has been stipulated, so as to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of payment users.
At the same time, Liu Xiaohong, head of the Treaty and Law Department of the Central Bank, introduced in detail the provisions of the "Regulations" in terms of user protection.
The first is to clarify the principle of fairness in payment service agreements and protect users' right to fair trade.
The Regulations stipulate that the payment service agreement shall specify the rights and obligations of the payment institution and the user, the principles of dispute settlement and the liability for breach of contract, and shall not include the exclusion or restriction of competition, as well as the unreasonable exemption or reduction of the liability of the payment institution, the increase of the user's liability, the restriction or exclusion of the user's main rights, etc. For terms that are sufficient to affect whether the user agrees to use the payment service, the user shall be reminded of the terms and explained in a reasonable manner. The proposed change to the agreement shall solicit the opinions of users and make an announcement.
The second is to strengthen the management of reserves to protect the safety of users' funds and property. The so-called "reserve" refers to the balance deposited by the user in WeChat Pay, Alipay and other payment institutions.
The Regulations specify the requirements for the transfer of reserves, prohibit payment institutions from managing reserves, stipulate a centralized deposit system for reserves, and require payment institutions to deposit reserves with the People's Bank of China or commercial banks that meet the requirements of the People's Bank of China.
The third is to clarify the rules for the processing of user information to protect users' right to know and the right to choose.
The Regulations stipulate that payment institutions shall follow the principles of legality, legitimacy, necessity and good faith in the processing of user information, disclose the rules for the processing of user information, clearly indicate the purpose, method and scope of processing user information, and obtain the consent of users. It is in line with the provisions of the Civil Code, Personal Information Protection and other laws on the protection of personal information.
Fourth, promote the establishment of a diversified dispute resolution mechanism to protect the remedial channels for users' rights.
The Regulations require that payment institutions shall promptly and properly handle disputes with users, fulfill their main responsibilities for handling complaints, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of users. Encourage the use of mediation, arbitration and other means to resolve disputes between users and payment institutions, and promote the efficient resolution of disputes.
Strengthen regulation and promote fairness
* The Financial Work Conference proposed that all financial activities should be brought under supervision in accordance with the law, and institutional supervision, behavior supervision, functional supervision, penetrating supervision, and continuous supervision should be comprehensively strengthened.
As the first administrative regulation in the financial field issued after the end of the financial work conference, strengthening supervision is the core essence of the "Regulations".
According to Wang Sheng, compared with the "No. 2 Order",The "Regulations" elevate departmental rules to administrative regulations, consolidating the legal foundation for the standardized and healthy development of the payment industry.
In the form of national legislation, the Regulations clarify the conditions and legal responsibilities for the entry and exit of payment institutions, stipulate the rules for payment business and the requirements for supervision and management, strictly control the access of payment institutions, prevent the risk of business violations, and strictly prevent the use of payment platforms to engage in illegal fundraising, telecommunications fraud and other illegal and criminal activities, and make the supervision and regulation more authoritative and transparent.
At the same time,The "Regulations" pay special attention to the combination of institutional supervision and functional supervision.
In terms of institutional supervision, the Regulations clearly state that payment institutions shall be subject to the management of "licenses before licenses", stipulate that the controlling shareholders and actual controllers of payment institutions shall comply with the relevant equity management regulations, and put forward clear regulatory requirements for corporate governance and management of systemically important institutions, thus building a framework for institutional supervision.
Previously, the payment business was divided into three categories, namely online payment, bank card acquiring and prepaid card issuance and acceptance. The Regulations reclassify the payment business from the dimension of funds and information, and divide it into two categories: stored value account operation and payment transaction processing according to whether the payer's advance funds can be received.
Order No. 2 divides the types of payment services according to transaction channels and acceptance terminals, which is not adaptable enough to the emerging payment methods in the market. Wang Sheng said, "Under the new classification method, it is not affected by new payment channels and payment methods, regardless of the external form of payment business, it can be classified and managed according to the essence of the business, so as to better meet the development needs of the payment business and implement 'functional supervision'." ”
In addition, Wang Sheng saidBased on the essence and risk characteristics of the business, the new classification method penetrates the surface form of the payment business, which is conducive to unifying the business regulatory requirements and forming a fairer institutional environment.
In this regard, Zhang Qingsong also said that the "Regulations" pay attention to the consistency of supervision, put forward the same regulatory measures for similar businesses, and confirm the basic institutional norms for the equal treatment of payment institutions of various ownerships, which are conducive to promoting fair competition and stimulating market vitality.
Zhang Qingsong believes that the promulgation of the "Regulations" will have three major impactsThe first is to ensure fair competition in the industry through fair supervision;The second is to improve the quality and efficiency of the supply of payment servicesThe "Regulations" clarify the service tenet of payment institutions for the convenience of small amounts, which is conducive to enhancing the service capabilities of payment inclusiveness, people's livelihood, and suitable for the elderly, emphasizing the maintenance of fair competition order, and is conducive to guiding the head payment institutions to play a good role as "head geese", pay more attention to the interests of the industry, society and the public, take the lead in maintaining fair competition, promote interconnection, and expand ecological opennessThe third is to promote high-level opening-upThe "Regulations" give national treatment to foreign-invested payment institutions, and insist on paying equal attention to "bringing in" and "going out", which is conducive to further promoting the efficiency of domestic cross-border capital circulation and improving the payment service level of new business formats such as cross-border e-commerce.
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