More controls on online payments

China plans to tighten regulatory controls on the country’s nearly 300 online payment firms, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s finance affiliate.

我国计划对国内300多家在线支付公司加强监管控制，其中包括阿里巴巴集团旗下的金融机构。

The draft rule, published by the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, on Friday, has triggered concerns among the general public as it imposes a cap on the amount that can be spent online via third-party payment platforms.

中国人民银行上周五发布的这份草案，引发了公众对于通过第三方在线支付平台限额的担忧。

Industry observers said that rather than making people’s life convenient, the draft rule aims to curb online payment companies from providing services that are otherwise provided by financial institutions.

业内观察家指出，该草案旨在遏制在线支付公司提供本应由金融机构提供的金融服务，而并非为了方便民众生活。

Under the draft, the PBOC plans to limit the amount an individual can pay online to 5,000 yuan ($800) per day through third-party payment accounts, unless the customer’s identity can be verified by a security token and electronic signature.

根据该草案，如果用户没有通过数字证书和电子签名的验证，央行将个人每天通过第三方在线支付的数额限定在5000元人民币（约合500美元）。

The central bank is seeking public feedback on the move by Aug 28. Many Internet shoppers expressed their frustration, saying that 5,000 yuan is not enough to buy an iPhone online.

央行将公众对此举的反馈期限定在8月28日。多数网购者对此表示失望，称5000元的限额还不够在网上购买一部iPhone手机。

In an unusual gesture, the central bank issued a follow-up statement during the weekend to clarify the "misunderstanding" of the draft rule. It said that customers with at least five methods of verifications can open a so-called "comprehensive account", which limits annual online or mobile payments to 200,000 yuan per person.

此后央行一反常态，在周末发表后续声明澄清对该草案的“误读”。声明称用户可通过至少5种方式验证后可开通所谓的“综合类账户”，该账户每年在线或移动支付的限额为20万元每人。

With three to five verification methods, customer can only open a "consumption account", with an annual transaction limit of 100,000 yuan.

通过3到5种验证方法的用户可开通“消费类账户”，年支付限额为10万元。

With mobile Internet becoming an increasingly integral part of people’s lives, especially for those in urban areas, Internet-based payments have been adopted on an increasing number of occasions, from online shopping to more and more offline supermarkets, restaurants and cinemas.

随着移动互联网越来越多的成为人们生活不可或缺的部分，特别是对于城市地区，网上支付在更多的场合被采用，从线上的购物到越来越多的线下超市、饭店及影院等。

Internet finance is also posing a rising threat to Chinese brick-and-mortar banks, which have lobbied for more regulations on third-party payments and peer-to-peer lending platforms.

互联网金融正逐渐威胁着国内的实体银行，银行也对加强第三方支付平台和P2P借贷平台的监管进行游说。

Statistics from iResearch Consulting Group show that China’s third-party payment market jumped 50.3 percent year-on-year to 8.08 trillion yuan last year.

艾瑞咨询公司的数据显示，中国第三方支付市场规模较去年的8.08万亿元增长了50.3%。

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来源:纽约时报中文网爱语吧作者:孙梦光