At the policy briefing held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) at 3 p.m. on March 1, 2024 (Friday), Zhang Qingsong, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and Liu Bin, Director-General of the Current Account Management Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) introduced the progress of further optimizing payment services to improve payment convenience, and answered questions from the press.
Shou Xiaoli, Deputy Director-General of the Press Bureau of the SCIO and SCIO spokesperson:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the State Council policy briefing. Today we are glad to have Mr. Zhang Qingsong, Deputy Governor of the PBOC to brief us on the progress of further optimizing payment services to improve payment convenience and answer your questions. Now, I will give the floor to Mr. Zhang Qingsong.
Zhang Qingsong, Deputy Governor of the PBOC:
Thank you. Good afternoon, dear friends from the media! I’m glad to see you again, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your long-standing support for the work of the PBOC and the financial sector. It’s a great pleasure to exchange ideas with you on the topic of further optimizing payment services to improve payment convenience, and answer questions from the press. Next, I will update you on the latest developments first.
As we all know, payment service is one of the most basic financial services. In recent years, China’s mobile payment has developed rapidly and ranked at the world’s leading level, playing an important role in improving transaction efficiency, reducing transaction costs and promoting financial inclusion. At the same time, the proportion of traditional payment methods such as bank cards and cash has declined, resulting in new problems and challenges in some consumption scenarios and consumer groups. To sum up, there are mainly two types of payment difficulties. The first is a “digital divide” as some groups including the elderly still prefer traditional cash payments. The second one is that overseas visitors are not used to or adapted to the payment modes in China.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council attach great importance to these problems and challenges and require the financial sector to study and solve these problems and challenges by adhering to the people-oriented nature of payment services expanding the high-level opening-up, and constantly improving the business environment. The PBOC resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and worked with relevant departments to conduct in-depth investigations and solicited opinions from all parties with regard to the weak links in accessing payment services for groups such as the elderly and overseas visitors to China. On this basis, the PBOC drafted the Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services to Facilitate Payments, which was reviewed and approved by the State Council executive meeting on February 23.
In drafting the Opinions, we adhered to four principles under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. First, we adopted a goal-oriented and problem-oriented approach, and took solid steps to overcome challenges in key areas and links such as bank card acceptance, cash payment, mobile payment, account service, and publicity and promotion. Second, we made overall plans to combine efficient markets with effective governments through concerted efforts to form a synergy. Third, we effectively enhanced the compatibility and inclusiveness of various payment methods such as mobile payment, bank card and cash, and adhered to the diversification of payment services. Fourth, we struck a good balance between security and development, as well as service optimization and risk management, thus facilitating payment to a greater extent.
Let me brief you on the six major measures in the Opinions. First, key places and merchants are encouraged to accept overseas bank cards, thus effectively facilitating the acceptance of bank cards. Second, the PBOC should guarantee the use of cash in payment, continuously improve the cash use environment, and upgrade the foreign currency exchange and cash services on an ongoing basis. Third, taking into consideration of the special needs of elderly people, overseas visitors to China and other groups, the PBOC will make headway with age-friendly and international service arrangements, aiming to further enhance the convenience of mobile payment. Fourth, consumers’ choice of payment method should be better guaranteed. Key places such as business districts, tourist attractions and hotels above a designated size must support diversified payment methods such as mobile payment, bank cards and cash, while those below a designated size should proactively create conditions to replicate these practices. Fifth, banks and payment institutions should further optimize the account opening process, and implement account classification-based management in a reasonable manner, thereby continuously upgrading the account services. Sixth, the PBOC should carry out various forms of well-targeted publicity activities to continuously strengthen the construction of “soft environment” such as publicity and promotion.
Dear friends from the press, optimizing payment services is a systematic project, which requires comprehensive policies and joint efforts from all parties. To ensure the implementation of relevant policies, the Opinions also specifically clarified safeguard measures to strengthen policy support. For example, in addition to promoting business innovation and encouraging local governments to provide incentives and support, the Opinions included the optimization of payment services in the assessment scope of tourism and leisure city construction, civilized city construction, cultural and tourism consumption city construction, local social comprehensive management, business environment evaluation, etc.
Moving forward, the PBOC will further strengthen coordination with all parties, refine work measures, clarify timetables and road maps, and establish a tracking and supervision mechanism. It will focus on key cities and places, stimulate the enthusiasm and creativity of payment service entities such as commercial banks, payment institutions, clearing institutions and foreign currency exchange institutions, keep a close eye on key areas such as bank card acceptance, foreign currency exchange, cash payment, mobile payment and publicity and promotion, and strive to achieve remarkable results in the short term.
That’s all I want to say. Thank you!
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you for your introduction, Deputy Governor Zhang. Now let’s move into the Q&A session. Please name your agency before raising questions.
CCTV:
As Deputy Governor Zhang mentioned just now, China’s mobile payment has developed rapidly in recent years, but meanwhile, some overseas visitors feel that they are not accustomed to payment habits and consumption patterns in China. I am wondering what efforts the PBOC has made in this regard. At present, what are the better ways for overseas visitors to make payments in China? Thank you.
Zhang Qingsong:
Thank you for your questions. You mentioned that foreign friends coming to China for tourism, visit, business and other activities have encountered difficulties in mobile payment, and we have noticed this issue. After careful investigation and analysis, we can summarize the problems as follows: “Not accessible”, namely, some foreign friends can not bind their overseas bank cards. “Not convenient”, namely, some foreign friends can not pay their bills successfully when they spend more than a certain amount, so they feel inconvenient using mobile payment. The frequent occurrence of such troubles leads to inconvenience in payment, so they naturally “do not want to use” it. As a result, there are problems of “not accessible”, “not convenient” and “do not want to use”.
To solve these problems, we will guide payment institutions to introduce a series of facilitation measures, so that mobile payment products, the most accepted payment method for Chinese people, are easy to use and available, and foreign friends are willing to use them. First, to increase the success rate for foreign friends to bind overseas bank cards to Alipay and WeChat, Alipay and Tenpay are required and guided to optimize their business processes to improve the efficiency of card binding. Second, we will simplify the identity verification arrangements, so that overseas visitors can handle a series of processes such as card binding more conveniently. We are also very concerned about the protection of personal information, and we will strictly require relevant agencies to implement the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and other regulations, thus effectively protecting the security of personal information. Third, we will guide Alipay, Tenpay and other major payment institutions to increase the single transaction limit of overseas visitors using mobile payment from USD1,000 to USD5,000, and raise the annual cumulative transaction limit from USD10,000 to USD50,000. I believe that through these three very specific and targeted measures, overseas visitors will continuously improve their service satisfaction and sense of gain in terms of card binding and “overseas e-wallets for payment in China”.
Of course, we will always place equal emphasis on development and security. While pushing for improvement of payment services and advancing development of the market, we will stress risk prevention and control in order to achieve a dynamic balance between development and security. On the one hand, we will support efforts by payment institutions, especially the top ones, to adopt differentiated strategies for risk prevention and control regarding different transactions based on their own business operation. On the other hand, we will urge payment institutions to strengthen transaction monitoring and risk assessment and to take risk control measures in a targeted manner according to the assessment results. Thank you.
The Paper:
The rapid development of mobile payment in China has given rise to the so-called “digital divide” for the elderly. What is the PBOC doing or planning to do to remove the payment barriers? And what kind of a payment system will be built? Thank you.
Zhang Qingsong:
Thank you for your questions. The PBOC has attached great importance to age-friendly transformation of payment services. In 2020, it issued the Opinions on Facilitating Payment Services for the Elderly. Focusing on the blockages and difficulties facing the provision of payment services for elderly people, the Opinions has laid down arrangements, such as on age-friendly upgrading of payment products, service optimization at bank outlets, and promotion of payment know-how, so as to improve payment services for the elderly.
So far, the major mobile payment apps have all carried out age-friendly upgrades. They have taken a number of approaches, such as simplifying the processes, adding friendly reminders and voice broadcasts, using larger fonts and icons, and opening special customer service hotlines, to make it easier for elderly people to use mobile payment services. Additionally, more than 96 percent of bank outlets in China have moved ahead with age-friendly transformation by, for instance, upgrading ATMs and setting up “green passages” and dedicated service counters for elderly people, in order to offer them easy access to payment and settlement services and build an age-friendly environment at bank outlets.
Another thing to note is that elderly people prefer to pay cash. As Director-General Chen Hongwan introduced just now, we will uphold the legal tender status of cash RMB and take firm action according to the law to punish and rectify the behaviors of some merchants who refuse to accept cash. At the same time, the PBOC will increase the supply of small-denomination cash money while requiring commercial banks to offer small change. With the adoption of a mix of measures, the environment will be optimized to facilitate cash payment so as to benefit not only elderly people but also all other consumers.
Going forward, based on what has been done to promote age-friendly payment, the PBOC will pay close attention to key areas, such as mobile payment, bankcard acceptance, cash payment, and service provision at bank outlets. Working with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other relevant agencies, we will further improve the quality and efficiency of age-friendly payment services and put effort into building a comprehensive, multi-tiered age-friendly service system with wide coverage. First, we will enhance the inclusiveness of payment services. Focusing on the key scenarios for payment facilitation, such as public utility payment, scenic spots, shopping malls, and payment for medical care, we will see that the traditional means of payment, such as cash and bankcards, are also accepted. Second, we will continuously optimize mobile payment services to ensure that the elderly not only have access to such services but are also able to use them, thereby gradually narrowing the digital divide. Third, more work will be done to further improve age-friendly services at bank outlets. We will promote the practices of exemplary outlets and add warmth to payment services to create a friendly payment environment. Fourth, we will carry out publicity activities on a regular basis to promote age-friendly payment. With multi-channel, wide-reaching publicity efforts, we will raise public awareness on payment security, including prevention of telecom fraud, to protect the wallet of elderly people.
Thank you.
YICAI:
At present, overseas visitors have encountered difficulties in identity verification and payment limits when using Alipay and other payment tools. What measures will the PBOC take to solve these problems in the coming period? In addition, how can we prevent and control risks while facilitating smoother services? Thank you.
Zhang Qingsong:
I will answer your questions. Your question and the first question I have just answered are different aspects of the same question..So I won’t repeat too much. I will add a few points or make some further introductions.
Since the Chengdu FISU World University Games last July, we have focused on removing the choke points and difficulties of overseas visitors in accessing domestic payment services. By carrying out special campaigns, we have guaranteed the needs of overseas visitors for major international events such as the Chengdu FISU World University Games, the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, and the China International Import Expo held in Shanghai. The work plan we brought up at that time can be summarized as “bank cards for large value payment, QR codes for small value payment, and no refusal to accept cash”. These three statements are the work idea brought up by the PBOC in light of the payment needs of foreigners who live and travel in China. This idea is exactly in line with the overall requirements of advancing our work in the near future.
We are all used to mobile payments in China. But in many countries, “card” is still the main payment method, and cash is widely used. First of all, we would like to share with foreign friends the payment methods preferred by the Chinese people. Foreigners can bind their overseas bank cards to our Alipay or WeChat Pay, and then complete payment in China’s extensive acceptance environment. In addition, we will support the use of overseas e-wallets for payment in China. In many Southeast Asian countries, e-wallets are widely used. We hope that wallets used in Malaysia or other countries can also be used in China. Currently, Alipay and Tenpay have enabled access to 13 overseas e-wallets to meet the needs of overseas visitors for mobile payment. According to statistics, in 2023, nearly 4 million overseas visitors used mobile payment, and over 70 million transactions have been made, with the total value of more than RMB10 billion. That is to say, we make the mobile payment that Chinese people especially like and accept accessible both at home and abroad.
Second, we also respect the habit of overseas visitors to make large-value payments by swiping their bank cards. Therefore, in large business districts, airports, railway stations and other places, we guide commercial banks and payment institutions to encourage shops and retailers there to accept overseas bank cards at an accelerated pace, so that overseas bank cards can be used there. To share with you the specific data, the acceptance rate of overseas bank cards among major shops and retailers in Shanghai and Zhejiang has exceeded 90 percent.
Third, we will ensure cash acceptance. According to our analysis, in terms of the number of transactions, mobile payments ranked first, but the value involved is small. In terms of transaction value, bank card payments took the lion’s share, followed by cash. Based on the data in Shanghai, for overseas investors, cash payments accounted for nearly 30 percent of their spending in this region. We have made comprehensive improvement in foreign currency exchange and ATM cash withdrawal. It was mentioned just now that the difficulty of cash payment lies in small change making or lack of enough small change. In response to this, we require commercial banks to provide the service of “small change pack”. For example, a pack of small change totaling RMB300 would be of use to both taxi drivers and restaurant owners who may need small change in their business.
The fourth payment method is account services. We guide banks to continuously optimize their bank account services, and implement account classification and tiered management in a reasonable manner, thereby upgrading such services. As of end-2023, domestic financial institutions opened about 22 million bank accounts for overseas visitors, an increase of 3.14 million compared with that at end-2022.
Progress has been made in facilitating payment for overseas visitors by implementing a mix of policy measures around the above four aspects. But what I share with you is mainly the weak links, problems and difficulties of mobile payment. The first difficulty for overseas visitors to pay in China is that the swipe fees of overseas bank cards are much higher than those of domestic ones. The second is that the number of shops and retailers accepting overseas bank cards is small. The third is that shops and retailers are sometimes short of small change. These are the problems, difficulties and challenges that we have encountered.
In view of this, we will adopt a problem-oriented approach, collaborate with all parties, and intensify our efforts to focus on key cities, institutions, places and merchants, and continuously improve services related to bank cards, cash, accounts and mobile payments, so as to better satisfy the payment service needs of overseas visitors, the elderly and other groups. I believe that by implementing a mix of policy measures, such problems can be better solved in a short time, and the service quality and efficiency can be significantly enhanced.
Thank you.
Shenzhen TV:
Given the popularity of mobile payment and the demand for foreign currency exchange services, how will the PBOC optimize the foreign currency exchange services to facilitate payment for overseas visitors? Thank you.
Liu Bin, Director-General of Current Account Management Department, SAFE :
Thank you for your question. Recently, the SAFE has taken multiple measures and made overall plans to upgrade the services for foreign currency cash exchange, optimize the user experience of mobile payment, and improve relevant foreign exchange services, in a bid to further facilitate overseas visitors’ travel consumption as well as work and life in China. For one thing, foreign currency exchange services have been optimized. In addition to bank outlets and ATMs, 119 specialized foreign currency exchange institutions and facilities have been added, and the existing number has reached 2,295. The number of convertible currencies has been increased to over 40, hence an enriched supply of cash and change for foreign currency exchange. For another, we have strengthened publicity and training on foreign currency exchange services, and cooperated with airports and other venues to set up consultancy counters for foreign currency exchange services. Besides, we have worked with departments of commerce, culture and tourism to facilitate overseas visitors in obtaining reliable information on foreign currency exchange channels upon their arrival in China. In addition, we have supported overseas visitors in binding their overseas bank cards to Alipay, WeChat, etc., and encouraged merchants to open the function of QR code scanning for payment by overseas visitors for their catering, accommodation, transport, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment in China. Deputy Governor Zhang has already introduced it, so I am not going to repeat. Overseas visitors can also make online purchases directly in China by entering simple information such as overseas bank card number on China’s e-commerce platforms that provide online payment services for holders of overseas bank cards.
Moving forward, the SAFE will continue to encourage more foreign currency exchange institutions to provide better exchange services for overseas visitors, strengthen services for foreign currency exchange at airports, and guide relevant agencies to set up foreign currency exchange institutions and facilities at airport arrival gates on a priority basis. It should be ensured that ports, foreign-related hotels and other important places have at least one of the five types of foreign currency exchange channels, which are mainly bank outlets with exchange logo, ATMs supporting cash withdrawal using overseas bank cards, foreign currency exchange agencies authorized by banks, and licensed agencies for personal domestic and foreign currency exchange. Some self-service exchange machines will also be set up to support overseas visitors in exchanging foreign currencies on their own. The logo for personal domestic and foreign currency exchange will be widely promoted at airports, ports, foreign-related hotels and other places. There are two types of logo: one comprises picture plus words and the other has picture only. As long as you see this logo, you can exchange domestic and foreign currencies. Licensed institutions and banking outlets for personal domestic and foreign currency exchange will be encouraged to expand the supply of currencies for foreign currency exchange if conditions permit, so as to better meet the needs of visitors from different countries and regions. The needs of overseas visitors for mobile payment and online consumption will be further satisfied, the existing business process will be continuously improved, and the innovation of various safe and convenient payment service products will be vigorously supported. Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Now the last question.
Economic Daily:
Payment services cover all walks of life. From both the supply and demand sides of the financial sector, how will government departments act in a coordinated way to improve the services? And what specific arrangements will be made for the next stage? Thank you.
Zhang Qingsong:
Thank you for your questions. As you have pointed out, optimizing payment services is a systematic project. It requires a holistic perspective as well as concerted efforts by payment service entities, competent agencies, local governments and other related parties to implement a mix of policy measures, so as to ensure remarkable achievements in the short term. At today’s policy briefing, each of our colleagues represents a ministry, which is a concrete demonstration of our joint efforts. Back to your questions, we will first ensure that payment service entities fulfill their responsibilities. The PBOC has required large state-owned banks, national joint-stock banks, major urban commercial banks, China UnionPay, Alipay, Tenpay and other institutions to formulate detailed work plans, put forward objectives and tasks, clarify timetables, increase the input of resources, and accelerate the implementation of various tasks. As a financial regulator, the PBOC convened a meeting yesterday with major officials from the banks, payment institutions and clearing institutions I mentioned just now. Some journalists may have attended this meeting.
In terms of departmental cooperation, the PBOC will establish a cross-departmental cooperation mechanism with the NDRC, the Ministry of Transport (MOT), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) and other ministries and commissions to form a “1 + N” policy guarantee system. Specifically, “1” refers to the Opinions reviewed and approved by the State Council executive meeting, which will be unveiled soon. “N” refers to the supporting policy documents issued by various departments. Let me give you an example. My colleague has done field research and found that taxi drivers in Beijing do not accept cash and there are difficulties in making change. To solve this problem, the PBOC will guarantee the supply of cash, especially cash of denomination under RMB20, and commercial banks should also ensure a sufficient supply of change and provide the service of “change purse”. Meanwhile, the transportation management department will require taxi operators and taxi drivers to prepare sufficient changes and provide change making services. This example is a proof of our efforts to solve the existing problems and difficulties by implementing a mix of policy measures.
In addition, we will give full play to the role of local governments. The PBOC has made work arrangements for all branches, requiring them to act as the leading units to encourage the respective local governments to conduct thematic studies on local payment facilitation. These branches are also required to work with local departments of commerce, culture and tourism, and transportation to comprehensively sort out the problems existing in key institutions, key scenes, and key business areas in their respective regions, think out solutions, and figure out the progress of established goals, and thus take targeted measures. The PBOC, as the supplier of cash, and various ministries and local governments, as the collaborators, will urge related entities to fulfill their respective responsibilities, including those of banks and payment institutions, as well as those of merchants, business districts and hotels. Their concerted efforts will facilitate the formation of a multi-dimensional working pattern.
In addition to the overall work assignment, we believe that we should also pay attention to the working mode and method in order to ensure the ultimate effects. We will establish a tracking and supervision mechanism, focusing on key regions, institutions, places and merchants. The word “key” is repeatedly highlighted, because the destinations overseas visitors like to go to are relatively concentrated. Therefore, we will keep a close eye on key tasks related to bank card acceptance, foreign currency exchange, cash payment, mobile payment and publicity and promotion, and make solid efforts in user satisfaction surveys. At the same time, we will work with competent agencies to strengthen the incentive mechanism, and include the optimization of payment services in the assessment of tourism and leisure city construction as well as business environment evaluation, so as to effectively promote all parties and entities to fulfill their respective responsibilities.
Of course, the media will play an indispensable role in expediting these works. We hope that everyone present here will pay more attention to the convenience and inclusiveness brought by mobile payment and ramp up publicity so that people around the world will know it and more foreign friends will experience it. We also hope that all of you will understand and introduce our positioning on the inclusive development of payment methods. That is to say, we encourage the traditional, current, and future payment methods to develop in parallel and complement each other. With the efforts of all parties, we will raise the level of payment services to a new height, so that problems and difficulties can be better solved in a short time, and the payment experience of all groups can be significantly improved.
Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Thanks to Deputy Governor Zhang, our speakers and friends from the press. This is the end of today’s briefing.
