Central Bank: Third Party Payment License Without Quantity Restriction

Core tip: the head of relevant departments of the people's Bank of China (PBC) on the 23 day said that the central bank does not impose quantitative restrictions on the payment business license, and encourages all qualified non-financial institutions to compete equally in the payment services market.

The China Securities Journal reported on June 24th that the head of the people's Bank of China's relevant departments said on the 23 day of the "non-financial institutions' payment service management measures" (the "measures"), that the central bank does not impose quantitative restrictions on the payment business license, and encourages all qualified non-financial institutions to compete equally in the payment service market.

The central bank said it would work hard to formulate detailed rules for implementation of the measures and related business measures.

The implementation details mainly focus on the qualification of applicants, the contents of relevant application materials and the obligations of the responsible subjects.

The relevant business measures are mainly to guide the payment institutions to carry out specific methods (or guidelines) for various types of business, especially the business methods for issuing and accepting prepaid cards and collecting bank cards.

In addition, the central bank will formulate relevant supporting measures with relevant departments such as the Public Security Bureau, organize relevant special inspections to form effective forces, effectively supervise non-financial institutions' payment services, and earnestly safeguard the healthy development of the payment service market.

A total of five chapters and fifty articles promulgated by the central bank recently can be summed up in seven aspects: first, the people's Bank of China's regulatory responsibilities for payment services of non-financial institutions are clarified.

The two is to explicitly provide payment service license system for non-financial institutions to provide payment services.

The three is to define the qualification requirements for payment institutions.

The four is the approval process.

The five is to clarify the safety management requirements of customer reserve funds.

The six is to define the standard operation requirements of Payment institutions.

The seven is to clarify the pitional requirements of the "measures".

By the end of the first quarter of 2010, a total of 260 non-financial institutions had submitted payment business registration materials to the people's Bank of China, most of which were engaged in Internet payment, mobile payment, telephone payment and issuance of prepaid cards.