Business / Policy Watch

PBOC puts brakes on online payments

By HE WEI in Shanghai and JIANG XUEQING in Beijing (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2014-03-14 13:29

Alibaba and Tencent were not available for comment when approached by China Daily on Friday.

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To facilitate smoother digital transactions, the Internet duo both announced on Tuesday that they will allow "payment by credit" for users of third-party payment processors.

Both firms are partnering with mid-sized lender China Citic Bank and Zhong An Online Property Insurance Co, a joint venture co-invested by the pair along with Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd, the world's second-largest insurer.

Unlike physical credit cards, the online service will be bundled with users' Alipay or Tenpay accounts, allowing companies to assess customers before issuing lines of credit.

Chinese Internet conglomerates are heavily promoting online-to-offline payments as they expand into each other's turf.

By scanning barcodes embedded in the respective mobile apps WeChat and Taobao Wallet, users can purchase items from brick and mortar stores using their smartphones.

To allow them to engage in financial services, Alibaba and Tencent each won one of the first regulatory licenses in the country to run private banks.