China's central bank has move to defend draft rules that would force online payment processors to channel large payments through traditional bank accounts, a requirement that industry observers say will stifle innovation while protecting the interests of incumbent banks.
中国央行已采取行动为其最新规定草案辩护,这些规定将迫使在线支付机构通过传统银行账户处理大额支付。行业观察人士称,这一要求将遏制创新并保护既有银行的利益。
The People's Bank of China in mid-July laid out a broad regulatory framework for internet finance, which includes payments, wealth management, peer-to-peer lending, and crowdfunding, among other services.
7月中旬,中国央行为互联网金融制定了一个范围广泛的监管框架,涵盖支付、理财、个人对个人(P2P)贷款、众筹以及其他服务。
Those guidelines sought to strike a balance between promoting innovation by upstarts seeking to compete with large, state-owned banks, while also imposing order on the chaotic world of internet finance, where hucksterism has thrived amid a lack of regulation.
该管理办法试图在促进新兴企业创新与规范混乱的互联网金融业之间达成平衡。这些新兴企业希望与大型国有银行展开竞争;而在互联网金融领域,由于缺乏监管,强制推销的现象很猖獗。
The PBoC followed up late on Friday with specific rules governing online payments, a sector dominated by Alipay, an affiliate of ecommerce giant Alibaba, and Caifutong, the payment arm of social media and gaming group Tencent.
上周五晚,中国央行发布了管理在线支付的具体规定。中国在线支付行业由电子商务巨头阿里巴巴(Alibaba)旗下的支付宝(Alipay)以及社交媒体和游戏集团腾讯(Tencent)的支付平台财付通主宰。
Online payments are expected to hit Rmb11.8tn ($1.9tn) this year, up from Rmb8.1tn in 2014, according to iResearch.
根据iResearch的数据,今年中国的在线支付规模预计将达到11.8万亿元人民币(合1.9万亿美元),高于2014年的8.1万亿元人民币。
The rules set a cap on payments by third-party processors of Rmb5000 per client per day and Rmb200,000 per year. Larger payments must be routed through the payer's account at a commercial bank.
管理办法对第三方支付机构处理的支付规模做出了限制,一名客户每日最高限额为5000元人民币,每年限额为20万元人民币。超出的部分必须通过客户在商业银行的账户支付。
Online groups reacted with dismay.
在线支付机构对此感到失望。
"It's not even enough to buy one iPhone. If I want to donate Rmb210,000 to the Winter Olympics, I guess I'd have to spread it over two years," Yi Huanhuan, secretary-general of IFC1000, an online finance trade group, wrote in a commentary, referencing Beijing's successful bid to host the 2022 winter games.
在线金融交易组织——互联网金融千人会(IFC1000)的秘书长易欢欢在一篇评论中写道:“这还不够买一部苹果手机。如果我想给冬奥会捐21万元人民币的话,我猜得花两年来捐。”这段话提到了中国成功赢得2022年冬奥会的主办权。
"Basically this blocks off the industry's space for development."
“本质上讲,这堵死了互联网金融业的发展空间。”
In an unusual move, the central bank issued a follow-up statement at the weekend responding to criticisms of the payment cap.
中国央行在管理办法公布后回答了记者提问,对外界对于支付限额的批评做出了回应。
The PBoC cited data showing that 71 per cent of online payment platform users made payments of less than Rmb1000 for all of 2014, to support its claim that the cap won't influence most users.
中国央行称,这些限额不会影响大多数用户。为了支持这一说法,中国央行援引数据称,2014年,72.31%的个人客户支付账户余额仅用于购物消费全年累计付款金额不超过1000元人民币。
The central bank also clarified that online payment companies can process payments of more than Rmb5000 but that the excess portion must be debited directly from a bank account linked to the user's payment platform account, rather than from cash already stored on the platform.
中国央行还明确指出,在线支付机构可以处理超过5000元人民币的支付交易,但超出的部分必须通过与用户支付平台账户关联的银行账户直接支付,而不是通过用户在支付平台存放的现金支付。
"Transfer limits are proposed based on a holistic consideration of payment efficiency and convenience, as well as factors such as anti-money laundering and client fund security," the central bank said.
中国央行表示:“限额管理是综合考虑支付效率与便捷、以及反洗钱和客户资金安全等因素而提出的。”
The new rules also forbid payment companies from opening accounts on behalf of financial institutions, as well as financial intermediaries involved in peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, wealth management, or foreign exchange. Instead these companies' funds must be held at commercial banks.
新的规定还禁止支付机构为金融机构,以及从事信贷、融资、理财、担保、货币兑换等金融业务的其他机构开立支付账户。这些机构的资金必须存放在商业银行。
The rules require payment companies to verify a client's identity in person before opening fully functional accounts. The issue of in-person account opening has also emerged as an obstacle for MYBank and WeBank, two online-only banks recently launched by Alibaba and Tencent, respectively.
规定要求,支付机构在为客户开立支付账户前须亲自核实客户身份。现场验证开设账户的问题也是最近阿里巴巴和腾讯分别推出的在线银行网商银行(MYbank)和微众银行(WeBank)面临的障碍。
The draft rules are open for public comment until August 28.
这份管理办法草案将公开征求公众意见,征求意见的截止日期是8月28日。