China to cut transaction fees to invigorate market entities

BEIJING -- China will reduce a total of 24 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) of payment fees every year to invigorate the economy through a slew of fee cuts measures unveiled recently, a central bank official said Thursday.

Among the total, over 16 billion yuan will be saved for small and micro-sized enterprises and self-employed individuals thanks to fee cuts, said Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, at a news briefing.

The measures, which will take effect on Sept 30 this year, focus on fee cuts in basic payment services, including bank account services, RMB settlement and e-banking, said Fan.

These measures will help reduce the cost of capital circulation, boost consumption and promote the high-quality development of the national economy, said Fan.

The country will also introduce long-term measures to reduce fees for interbank ATM cash withdrawal, Fan added.