Rumor: PBoC to Release Banking Platform in August
21st Century Business Herald, 4/02/10
Sources from within China's commercial banks have revealed that the People's Bank of China's interconnected online banking system may come online in August. Over ten major pilot banks are currently engaged in development to connect to the system.
According to an informed source, as a supplement to existing payment systems, the new system will run in concert alongside existing real-time high-value transaction and batched low-value transaction payment systems, and will support a maximum transaction value fixed somewhere between the two, to be tentatively set at RMB 50,000.
Third-party payment platforms may temporarily be excluded from connecting with the system. According to an employee from a publicly-held bank, if third-party payment platforms are allowed access to the system, this would represent a major challenge to commercial banks' payment business. However, several bank representatives believe that third-party payment platforms will be allowed access to the system in later stages of its development.
The system will enable real-time inter-bank transfers and inter-bank account inquiry services to both individual and corporate customers, as well as services that existing payment systems cannot provide, such as inter-bank debit, third-party payment, and third-party pre-authorization services.
Editor's Note: For more background on the PBoC's planned online banking platform, see "PBoC to Establish Online Banking Platform," MD 12/4/09 issue.
Keywords: Internet online banking People's Bank of China third-party payment