Digital Payments & Fintech · China
Digital Payments & Fintech - China
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.
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.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/23/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →