The Chinese central bank has just released a draft version of new regulations on agency collection operations that places a ban on their association with P2P lending platforms.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) recently released the draft version of the “People’s Bank of China Notice Concerning Standardization of Agency Collection Operations” (中国人民银行关于规范代收业务的通知) for the solicitation of opinions from the public.

The Notice stipulates that collection agencies are not permitted to “handle payments operations” by means of collection operations for a range of groups or activities, including P2P online loans, equity crowd-funding and foreign-exchange operations, as well as various online exchanges or e-commerce platforms.

The launch of the draft regulations arrives following a dismal year for China’s P2P sector, which has all but capsized in the wake of intensified pressure from regulators.

The number of P2P platforms operating normally in China has dropped from over 7,000 to under 600 since the start of 2019, with regulators pushing for overhaul of the sector following reports of endemic fraud.

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