There are two types of payment collection barcodes: Individual barcodes are generated by personal accounts that are designed for people to receive money from their family or friends merchant barcodes, however, are generated by accounts designed for businesses to receive payment from their customers. The October regulations stipulate that anyone using a payment platform in a way that looks a lot like a business should use a merchant barcode rather than an individual one to receive payments. What do I need to know about the new regulations? Here are four key things to know about why the central bank wants to keep business and personal matters separate on China’s ubiquitous mobile payment platforms.
Nearly 100 million small and micro business owners in China use individual QR codes on Alipay and WeChat Pay to handle their payments, according to investment bank China International Capital Corp. The value of transactions made through QR codes - both merchant and personal - hit 11 trillion yuan in the period, accounting for about 15.4% of the total, the report showed. The October regulations were more recently in the news late last November when speculation swirled that they would force businesses to stop accepting payment via Alipay and WeChat Pay quick response (QR) codes all together.Īlthough the rumors were unfounded, the hand-wringing highlights the stakes of fiddling with China’s nonbank mobile payment market, which handled transactions worth 71.2 trillion yuan ($11.2 trillion) in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a report by consulting firm iResearch. But as these businesses have grown, regulators since last year have tightened restrictions on the fintech sector to check risks to the financial system. Until recently, regulators largely turned a blind eye to internet giants’ rapidly developing financial businesses as government policy was focused on boosting innovation. The new rules come as the government tightens oversight on the country’s fintech sector. In the PBOC’s own words, the regulations, set to take effect March 1, aim to clearly distinguish between business and personal transactions on the platforms in an effort to prevent financial crimes like cross-border gambling. Instead, the central bank wants all businesses to use more tightly regulated accounts that feature merchant barcodes, which the platforms use to facilitate transactions between businesses and their customers.
New regulations released by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in October bar businesses from using barcodes generated by personal accounts on these platforms to take money from their customers. There’s no shortage of folksy sayings that warn about the danger of mixing business and personal matters, and that’s the message China’s financial regulators want the hundreds of millions of users of mobile payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay to take to heart.
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