The Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions, which will be implemented on May 1, will further bring non-bank payment institutions and their business activities under the track of rule of law for supervision. On April 22, the People's Bank of China issued the detailed rules for the implementation of this administrative regulation (draft for comments).
How will this administrative regulation be implemented, and what will be the impact after implementation? Let's listen to the experts' interpretation.
Set up a reasonable transition period for identity card replacement
Achieve a smooth transition
Non-bank payment, in simple terms, refers to a payment service that is not provided through a bank, but through another institution. For example, we often use Alipay, WeChat payment, etc. In recent years, the business volume of payment institutions has grown rapidly, and there are currently 183 non-bank payment institutions in China, with an annual transaction volume of more than 1 trillion yuan and an amount of nearly 400 trillion yuan, serving more than 1 billion individuals and tens of millions of merchants.
The Implementing Rules specify the procedures and timetable for the renewal of new payment institution licenses under the new regulations. The transition period for card renewal is set from the effective date of the Implementation Rules to the expiration date of the validity period of the payment business license of each payment institution. At the same time, taking into account that the expiration time of the licenses of some payment institutions is close to the effective date of the Implementation Rules, the transition period for these payment institutions has been relaxed to 12 months.
Upon the expiration of the transition period, the People's Bank of China will renew the payment business license in accordance with the new regulations. If the payment institution meets the conditions, it may also choose to apply for the renewal of the payment business license in advance.
Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of Zhaolian, said that the transition period has given payment institutions enough time to prepare. At the same time, the original validity period of the payment license of these payment institutions is 5 years, and they must apply for an extension every 5 years.
The implementation rules also clarify that the approval authority for changes of some payment institutions will be appropriately delegated and the approval level will be reduced.
Wen Bin, chief economist of China Minsheng Bank, said that for example, changes in company names or registered capital only need to be accepted, reviewed and decided by branches of the People's Bank of China. This will improve the efficiency of the examination and approval of administrative licenses, and is conducive to the establishment and improvement of an efficient and fast mechanism for handling change matters.
The scope of the original business license will not be changed
What are the new provisions for non-bank payment institutions in the implementation rules? Experts said that the implementation rules adhere to the principle of stability, pay attention to regulatory consistency, and ensure a smooth transition of the payment market.
Previously, the payment business was divided into three categories: online payment, bank card acquiring and prepaid card business, but with technological innovation and business development, emerging methods such as barcode payment and face payment have emerged. The Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions proposes to reclassify payment business into two categories: stored value account operation and payment transaction processing, and the key to distinguishing these two types of business is whether it can receive funds advanced by payers. The implementation rules announced this time put forward a specific classification method, and experts said that this will better meet the needs of market development and regulation.
Wen Bin said that the implementation rules fully consider the licensing framework under the current classification method, and will not change the original business license scope of payment institutions, that is, the original business of payment institutions still exists, and it is not expected to have an impact on the business continuity and user experience of payment institutions.
In addition, the Detailed Implementation Rules also clearly require that if a non-bank payment institution wants to adjust the charging items or charging standards, it shall make continuous publicity at least 30 days in advance, and the payment transaction records shall be kept for at least 5 years.
Source: People's Bank of China official website, CCTV News, Xinhua Daily