On December 17, the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were officially promulgated and will come into force on May 1, 2024. This is the first administrative regulation in the financial field issued after the Central Financial Work Conference, and it is a specific measure to implement the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference, which is a milestone in promoting the high-quality development of the payment industry.
Zhang Qingsong, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, Li Mingzheng, director of the Second Legislative Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, Liu Xiaohong, responsible person of the People's Bank of China's Treaty and Law Department, and Wang Sheng, responsible person of the Payment and Settlement Department of the People's Bank of China, attended the meeting and answered reporters' questions.
"The payment industry has always played a fundamental role in serving the needs of the real economy and people's livelihood. After decades of development, the mainland has established a wide-coverage, safe and efficient payment and clearing system centered on the central bank payment and clearing system, with the participation of commercial banks, clearing institutions, and non-bank payment institutions. Zhang Qingsong said that the payment service used to be dominated by commercial banks, with the rapid development of non-bank payment services, commercial banks gradually provide large-amount, corporate payment services, payment institutions focus on small-amount, convenient payment services, the two have both competition, but also a new pattern of division of labor and cooperation.
Optimize classification standards and improve the supervision and management framework
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 payment institutions is about 1 trillion yuan, and the average transaction amount 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 for them to establish a stable and adequate supervision and management framework. He explained.
In order to guide payment institutions to further improve the quality and efficiency of serving the real economy, the "Regulations" have provided guidance from many aspects. For example, it is clarified that payment institutions shall carry out business with the purpose of providing small-amount and convenient payment services; appropriately raise the registered capital requirements of payment institutions, requiring them to have business systems, facilities and technologies that meet the requirements, as well as governance structure, internal control and risk management capabilities, etc.; adhere to the principle of "returning to the origin of payment business", guide payment institutions to focus on improving service levels, conduct business in accordance with the approved business type and geographical scope, and shall not engage in other businesses that require approval in accordance with the law without approval.
In addition, the "Financial Times" reporter paid attention to the fact that the previous payment business types were divided into three categories: network payment, bank card acquiring and prepaid card issuance and acceptance, and online payment was subdivided into Internet payment, mobile phone payment, fixed telephone payment and other types, while the "Regulations" combined with years of regulatory practice, adhere to the concept of functional supervision, starting from the essence of the business, according to whether the payer can receive the prepaid funds, divided into two categories: stored value account operation and payment transaction processing.
In this regard, Wang Sheng believes that the new classification method has good scalability and is conducive to preventing regulatory gaps. "Regardless of the external manifestation of the payment business, it can be classified and managed according to the essence of the business, which can better adapt to the development and changes of the industry, and can quickly classify the emerging payment business in the market into two basic business types for supervision. He explained. In addition, he mentioned that the new classification is conducive to achieving "the same business, the same supervision" and promoting fair competition. Based on the essence and risk characteristics of the business, the new classification method penetrates the superficial form of the payment business, which is conducive to unifying the business regulatory requirements and forming a fairer institutional environment.
According to Wang Sheng, the People's Bank of China is stepping up the formulation of detailed rules for the implementation of the "Regulations", and will be issued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the legislative procedures to fully solicit and absorb the opinions of all parties to ensure the smooth implementation of the "Regulations".
The payment business is developing rapidly, and protecting and making good use of legitimate rights and interests is the top priority
Prior to the entry into force of the Regulations, the Measures for the Administration of Payment by Non-bank Payment Institutions (hereinafter referred to as "Order No. 2") formulated by the People's Bank of China in June 2010 played an important role in regulating the development of the third-party payment industry.
At that time, payment institutions were in the early stage of development, and their business scale and market share were relatively small. In the past 10 years, the payment institution business has continued to innovate, and the business volume has grown rapidly, with the compound annual growth rate of the number of transactions and the amount exceeding 40%. "In the process of rapid development of payment institutions, we have also noticed that Order No. 2 has gradually lagged behind market development and regulatory needs. For example, Order No. 2 is a departmental regulation, with a low level of law, insufficient regulatory effectiveness, and insufficient adaptability to emerging payment methods in the market. Wang Sheng said that the latest "Regulations" focus on regulatory consistency and continuity, and maintain a good connection with Order No. 2 and regulatory practice. At the same time, compared with Order No. 2, the Regulations elevate departmental rules to administrative regulations, and in the form of national legislation, clarify the conditions and legal responsibilities for the access, alteration and exit of payment institutions, 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 regulatory norms more authoritative and transparent.
In addition, the "Regulations" have also strengthened the protection of users' rights and interests. Li Mingzheng mentioned that in the process of drafting the "Regulations", the party and the state's line, principles, policies, and decision-making arrangements were implemented, and payment institutions were guided to serve the real economy, better protect the legitimate rights and interests of users, and further play their positive role in prospering the market economy and facilitating people's lives.
As for how the "Regulations" "better protect the legitimate rights and interests of users", Liu Xiaohong explained from four aspects: first, to clarify the principle of fairness of payment service agreements and to protect users' right to fair trading; second, to strengthen the management of reserves to protect the safety of users' funds and property; third, to clarify the rules for the processing of user information to protect users' right to know and to choose; and fourth, to promote the establishment of a diversified dispute resolution mechanism to protect users' rights and relief channels.
There is competition and cooperation Non-bank payment institutions and banks develop together
"If you calculate according to the number of payments, 80% are payment institutions, 20% are banks, if you calculate according to the amount of payments, the majority is banks, and the small proportion is in payment institutions. Zhang Qingsong disclosed a set of data. He emphasized that banks and non-bank payment institutions together constitute the main body of payment services, with a clear division of labor and mutual cooperation, with the purpose of providing safe and efficient payment services for business entities and the public.
Regarding the differentiation of the payment Xi of overseas visitors to China, Zhang Qingsong responded that the People's Bank of China, together with relevant departments, has established a special working mechanism, issued guiding opinions, and is organizing various units to promote various tasks in an orderly manner.
Specifically, "large-value card swiping" refers to improving the acceptance environment for overseas bank cards, organizing all branches of the People's Bank of China to find out the acceptance of outdoor cards of domestic merchants under its jurisdiction, and delineating key business districts, airports, railway stations and other major foreign-related places in conjunction with the departments of commerce, culture and tourism, and guiding commercial banks and payment institutions to accelerate the opening of foreign card acceptance by key merchants; The "Cash Reserve" is to improve the environment for the use of cash, organize banks to carry out ATM foreign card acceptance transformation, improve the coverage rate of ATMs that support foreign card withdrawals, and continue to carry out special rectification work on rejecting RMB cash.
"In addition, we continue to improve our account services. Guide banks to implement classified and hierarchical management of accounts, optimize the account opening process, and improve the convenience level of opening bank accounts for overseas people in China. Zhang Qingsong added. "Through the joint efforts of all parties, our work has achieved certain positive results. Especially during major international events and conferences such as the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chengdu Universiade, Hangzhou Asian Games, and Tianjin Summer Davos Forum, it has fully guaranteed that overseas visitors to China can enjoy fast, safe and convenient payment services, and modern payment has become a beautiful 'business card' to show the high-quality development of the mainland. ”
Source: Financial Times client
Image source: China News Network
Reporter: Ma Meiruo
Editor: Yang Zhiyuan
Email: [email protected]