Digital Payments & Fintech · China
Fintech & digital payments rules in China (2026)
China shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
China operates a clear, statutory licensing regime for digital payments: non-bank payment institutions must hold PBOC-issued Payment Services Permits under the State Council's 2024 administrative regulation, the first of its kind for the sector. Licenses are classified into two business types (stored-value account operation and payment transaction processing) with minimum capital and conduct requirements, while related fintech credit such as BNPL is channelled into licensed consumer-finance and banking entities. Open banking remains standards-based rather than a mandated regime, and PBOC-run rails (IBPS) provide round-the-clock instant payments.
Key points
The State Council's Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Non-bank Payment Institutions took effect 1 May 2024 — China's first administrative regulation for non-bank payments — requiring all domestic and cross-border payment providers serving Chinese users to obtain a PBOC Payment Services Permit.
The regime simplified business classification into two types: stored-value account operation (handling prepaid customer funds, with deposit-like liquidity/credit risk) and payment transaction processing. This replaced the prior multi-tier permit system.
Minimum registered capital is set at RMB 100 million, rising to as much as RMB 400 million for nationwide full-licence institutions. PBOC began issuing long-term licences, granting them to an initial batch of institutions while denying renewal to firms failing new compliance standards.
The PBOC-operated Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS), live since 2010 under CNAPS II, provides 24/7 internet credit/debit transfers (≈17bn transactions / RMB301tn in 2023) and was linked in real time to Hong Kong's Faster Payment System via 'Payment Connect' in 2025.
China has no statutory open-banking/mandatory API-sharing regime; instead the PBOC issued a financial-industry API security standard (2020) and promotes secure data sharing under its FinTech Development Plan (2022–2025), reinforced by 2025 PBOC data-security and cyber rules.
There is no standalone BNPL statute; products like Alipay's Huabei, JD Baitiao and Meituan Monthly Pay are pushed into licensed consumer-finance/banking structures, and Huabei balances are reported to the PBOC Credit Reference Center. JD acquired Home Credit's China unit in 2025 to obtain a nationwide consumer-finance licence.
Timeline - major decisions & events
Reports indicate a new framework allowing e-CNY holdings to earn interest, piloted via Shanghai's digital yuan hub, marking a shift toward making the CBDC competitive with bank deposits for users.
CoinDesk ↗The PBOC's Digital Currency Institute launched a center to operate cross-border and blockchain infrastructure for the digital yuan, advancing internationalization of the e-CNY for cross-border payments.
People's Bank of China ↗The PBOC issued 77-article Detailed Rules implementing the 2023 Regulations, specifying licensing application conditions, registered-capital calculation, equity penetration oversight, and a transition period running to each institution's permit expiry.
People's Bank of China ↗State Council Decree No. 768 (signed by Premier Li Qiang on Dec 17, 2023) elevated payment supervision to administrative-regulation level, defining non-bank payment institutions, setting a CNY 100 million minimum paid-up capital, and codifying licensing and risk-management duties.
Ministry of Justice (China) ↗The PBOC and other regulators fined Ant Group ~CNY 7.12 billion ($985m) for violations spanning corporate governance, consumer protection, and AML, formally concluding the multi-year crackdown and clearing the path for a financial holding company license.
China Daily ↗Under regulators' guidance, Ant Group began a sweeping rectification—becoming a regulated financial holding company, severing Alipay's links to lending products Huabei and Jiebei, and curbing leverage—reshaping how China supervises payment-platform conglomerates.
Caixin Global ↗Days before listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong, regulators halted Ant's IPO after summoning Jack Ma, citing 'material changes' in the regulatory environment for fintech—the pivotal event triggering China's fintech regulatory overhaul.
CNBC ↗The central bank started real-world pilots of its central bank digital currency in Shenzhen and other cities, distributing e-CNY to residents and later expanding to 28 cities—China's first operational sovereign digital currency.
Atlantic Council ↗Following the US-China trade deal, the PBOC approved PayPal's acquisition of GoPay (first foreign online payment license) and accepted American Express's and Mastercard's bank-card clearing applications, ending the domestic monopoly on card clearing.
TechCrunch ↗The PBOC ordered all non-bank payment institutions to route online transactions through the new centralized NetsUnion clearing platform (migration by Oct 15, 2017), ending direct bank connections and giving regulators full visibility over payment flows.
The Asian Banker ↗The central bank began granting payment business permits (valid five years) to credible non-bank institutions including Alipay, formally legitimizing the third-party payment industry under the 2010 framework.
China Briefing ↗The PBOC issued the foundational rule (Order No. 2) requiring any non-financial institution providing payment services to obtain a PBOC payment license—establishing China's first licensing regime for third-party/digital payments.
AppInChina (PBOC text) ↗China - other topics
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →