The peak body for the Chinese payments sector has committed to the implementation of fee reductions for small businesses in China as part of a push from regulators for greater financial inclusion.
The Payments & Clearing Association of China (PCAC) said that it would actively arrange for members to fully implement policies for the reduction of payments processing fees paid by micro-and-small enterprises (MSE’s) starting from 30 September.
Commercial banks and payments providers will be required to reduce fees for MSE’s and industrial and commercial proprietors, including bank account services fees, remittance processing fees, electronic banking services fees and payments account services fees.
According to PCAC most of its members have already completed preparations for fee reductions, while some commercial banks and payments institutions, including Bank of China, Bank of Beijing and Alipay have already implemented reduction and exemption measures in advance.
111 commercial banks and 92 payments organisations have indicated that they will be capable of implementing fee reductions on schedule on 30 September, accounting for 95% of membership market share.
