China Refuses Cash Payments... Financial Authorities Intensify Crackdown on Violating Business Owners
Survey of 1.41 Million Businesses in China from October to December
Fines Imposed for Refusing Cash Payments
As "mobile payments" have become widespread in China, financial authorities are conducting extensive crackdowns as store owners increasingly refuse cash payments.
According to Caixin, a Chinese economic media outlet, on the 30th, Luo Rui, Director of the Currency and Gold Department at the People's Bank of China, stated at a briefing on the "Special Crackdown on Refusal to Accept Renminbi (Yuan) Cash" that from October last year to this month, 1.411 million businesses across China were investigated.
The People's Bank of China explained that more than 750,000 pledges were signed between frontline commercial banks and business owners promising not to refuse cash payments. To assist with cash usage, over 180,000 change pouches were also distributed.
There have been numerous cases where businesses were fined for refusing consumers' cash payment requests. The Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China identified 20 businesses, including a branch of China Life Property & Casualty Insurance and Dashixing Automobile Sales, that refused to accept cash and imposed fines ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 yuan (approximately 9.1 million to 91 million KRW). Directly responsible individuals at these businesses were separately fined 10,000 yuan (about 1.8 million KRW).
Chinese authorities have continuously educated business operators that they must not refuse consumers' cash payment requests, but the problem persists. Consequently, the special crackdown will continue until April next year.
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About a decade ago, China relied heavily on cash payments, but with the widespread adoption of smartphones, mobile payments have become the norm. Currently, cash transactions are virtually rare. Some critics argue that the rapid digital transition has raised the economic activity barriers for certain groups, such as the elderly.
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