· Non-Bank Payment Business License in China

Entails opening payment accounts for users (both individuals and corporate entities), receiving prepaid funds, and handling balances

Entails executing digital transaction instructions without holding customer balances or managing user stored-value accounts

Foreign payment providers serving domestic users inside China must establish a locally incorporated domestic entity and secure a domestic PBOC payment license

Strict Restrictions: Non-bank payment licenses strictly prohibit providing clearing services or acting as a clearing house in any disguised form

A minimum of RMB 100 million is required, which must be fully paid-up monetary capital (not in-kind or intellectual property).

Depending on the exact geographic coverage and business combinations chosen, the PBOC can raise this threshold up to RMB 400 million.

The company's net assets must scale proportionally to a designated ratio against the average daily balance of pending customer payments

Directors, supervisors, and senior executives (CEO, CFO, Compliance/AML Officer) must pass a PBOC qualification screening and lack any record of major financial violations or criminal history

The institution must maintain dedicated compliance teams trained specifically in China’s AML, Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF), and anti-fraud reporting frameworks

Adequate numbers of professional, certified information technology security and systems infrastructure operators are required to run local server nodes

The primary business systems, operational databases, and their exact backups must be physically located within Mainland China. Cross-border data flows must strictly adhere to China's Cybersecurity Law and Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)

A robust internal risk defense mechanism, data encryption standard, and consumer compensation protocol must be formulated

Antitrust and stability provisions dictate strict scrutiny over actual controllers, generally stating a single shareholder cannot directly or indirectly hold more than 10% of a systemically important PSP without deeper oversight

When applying, institutions define their scope as nationwide or regional (limited to specific provinces)

While the PBOC coordinates macro licensing, local municipal branches of the PBOC and local governments manage risk and on-site operational oversight within their specific jurisdictions

Financial and payment services are generally subject to a standard VAT rate (typically 6% for financial/modern services), requiring the issuance of official VAT invoices (fapiao)

A baseline CIT of 25% applies to net taxable profits, though regional incentives (e.g., in Free Trade Zones like Hainan or Lingang) may offer lowered rates if criteria are met

Cross-border repatriations of profits or outbound service fees require explicit clearance and settlement approvals with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)

100% of the customer's pending payment funds (float) must be deposited into a dedicated centralized deposit account managed at the PBOC or authorized commercial banks. Non-bank institutions cannot accrue interest on or misappropriate these funds

Payment transactions must process entirely through clearing institutions officially designated and recognized by the PBOC (such as NetsUnion/Wang联 or China UnionPay)

The framework explicitly allows payment accounts to be opened for corporate B2B users, encouraging strategic partnerships with commercial banks to enhance corporate settlements