As the cashless revolution sweeps China’s consumer market, the Chinese central bank has started to issue fines to businesses that refuse to accept cash payments.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) branch for the Shaanxi province capital of Xi’an recently launched an investigation into a local tourism company in Lantian county following multiple complaints that it had publicly advertised refusal to accept cash payments.
PBOC subsequently issued the offending tourism company with a penalty for refusal to accept cash payment and ordered it to perform related rectification, stressing the fact that the renminbi is the statutory currency and legal tender of China.
According to a report from the Xi’an Evening News the penalty is the first ever issued in China for refusal to accept cash.
The fine comes just after PBOC’s launch in July of an official crackdown on refusal to accept cash payments in response to widespread consumer complaints.
A survey on offline consumer payment methods from Rong360 found that 11.36% of respondents had met with refusal from retailers when attempting to make cash payments.
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