China is about to unveil its first group of licensed cross-border payments providers following multi-year trials.
According to domestic media reports the first batch of cross-border payments licensees who obtained approval from Chinese authorities in December 2019 include:
- Hangzhou-based LianlianPay,
- Three Beijing-based payments companies,
- Two Shanghai-Based payments companies.
A source from one of the Beijing-based payments companies said that the approval is the concrete outcome of the “Payments Organisation Foreign Exchange Operations Regulatory Measures” (支付机构外汇业务管理办法) (directive no. 13) issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on 30 April 2019.
The move marked the winding up of nationwide trials which commenced with the issue of the “Notice Concerning Undertaking Payment Organisation Cross-border Foreign Exchange Payments Operations Trials” (关于开展支付机构跨境外汇支付业务试点的通知) by SAFE in 2015.
Starting from 2013 SAFE began to conduct cross-border foreign exchange payments trials in a total of five areas including Beijing.
In 2015 these trials expanded to encompass the whole of China, with a total of 30 third-party payments organisations participating in the trial, including:
- Shouxin Zhifu (首信易支付),
- Huifu Ltd. (汇付天下),
- Allinpay (通联支付),
- Fuiou Pay (富友支付),
- Lianlian Pay (连连支付),
- ChinaPay (银联电子).
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