PBOC mulls more e-payment licenses

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is considering granting more online payment licenses to internet companies as e-commerce booms, Caixin reported, citing a PBOC official. The central bank was considering issuing a third batch of licenses for handling online payments as the e-commerce sector was growing so fast, PBOC deputy governor Liu Shiyu said at an internet industry conference on Tuesday. The value of online transactions hit US$980.5 billion (RMB6 trillion) last year. Liu also said greater attention should be paid to risks related to financial services offered online.