China May Issue Third-Party Payment Licenses This Year
The Beijing News, 11/30/10
Ouyang Weimin, head of the payment settlement department of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), stated that it was "entirely possible" that some third-party payment licenses would be issued this year, in response to questions by interviewers at the 4th Annual China Electronic Banking Summit.
Some third-party payment companies have indicated that while they have been making the necessary preparations, they have not submitted their applications for licenses because they are still waiting for full details on the licensing policy to be released by the PBoC.
In June, 2010, the PBoC released its "Administrative Regulations Pertaining to Payment Services Offered by Non-Financial Institutions." Later, on September 21, a draft version of details of the policy was made available for public comment, but a finalized version of the document has yet to be released.
A general manager at one third-party payment enterprise stated that although the details are publicly known, it still takes roughly one month for businesses to prepare an application in accordance with the requirements, and after submission, another month to gain approval. The vice general manager of another payment company with over RMB 100 mln in daily transactions expressed hopes that the company could receive its license by mid-February, 2011, after the Chinese New Year holiday.
Ouyang reiterated multiple times that the PBoC would not be limiting the number of licenses issued. Any non-financial institution, whether state-financed or privately financed, would be eligible for the licenses as long as it met the central bank's requirements.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "China's Central Bank Issues 3rd-Party Payment Regulations" MD 6/21/10 issue.
Keywords: Internet license People's Bank of China third-party payment Ouyang Weimin regulation
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