Three departments, including the People's Bank of China (PBC), have jointly released the Circular on Further Optimizing Payment Services in the Commercial Field and Raising Payment Convenience (the "Circular").
The Circular, with a focus on better meeting the diversified payment needs for the elderly, foreigners in China, and other groups in the commercial field, strengthens the cooperation between the local commerce authorities and the branches of the PBC. It stresses the actions to formulate a list of key places and key merchants in the commercial field, build an inclusive and diverse payment acceptance environment, optimize the cash use environment, enrich mobile payment applications, strengthen the demonstration and leadership of international consumption center cities, and strengthen publicity and promotion, among others, so as to establish a multi-level and diversified payment service system and jointly raise the level of payment services in the commercial field. The Circular encourages e-commerce platforms to fully consider the consumption needs of foreigners in China, enhance cooperation with banking financial institutions, non-bank payment institutions, and clearing institutions, optimize international services, enrich product functions such as multi-language services and multiple payment options, and improve the online shopping payment experience.