The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; all ministries and commissions of the State Council; and all institutions directly under the State Council:

To improve the market mechanism for the bank card clearing services in China, prevent clearing risks, maintain stability of the payment system, protect the lawful rights and interests of cardholders, and further promote the orderly competition and sound development of the bank card clearing market, the following decisions are hereby made:

I . Implementing access administration of bank card clearing institutions

To engage in bank card clearing business within the territory of the People's Republic of China, an institution shall apply to the People's Bank of China ("PBC"), upon approval by the PBC after soliciting consent from the China Banking Regulatory Commission ("CBRC"), obtain a bank card clearing business permit according to the law to become an institution specializing in bank card clearing business (hereinafter referred to as "bank card clearing institution"). An institution failing to obtain the bank card clearing business permit according to the law shall not engage in bank card clearing business, except as otherwise provided in this Decision.

For the purpose of this Decision, "bank card clearing business" means the activities of assisting in completing capital settlement by bank card clearing institutions through developing bank card clearing standards and rules, running bank card clearing business systems, authorizing the issuance and acceptance of the bank cards of their own brands, and providing card issuing institutions and acquiring institutions with inter-institution transaction processing services in respect of the bank cards of their own brands.

According to this Decision, the PBC shall, in conjunction with the CBRC, develop detailed rules for the implementation of the administrative licensing conditions and procedures and relevant prudential supervision and management measures, issue bank card clearing business permits to qualified applicants according to the law, and implement supervision and management according to the division of responsibilities, to jointly prevent systemic risks of the bank card clearing system.

II . Conditions and procedures to be followed for applying to become a bank card clearing institution

1. To apply to become a bank card clearing institution, an applicant shall be an enterprise with a legal person status formed in accordance with the Company Law of the People's Republic of China and satisfy the following conditions:

 (1) It has registered capital of not less than 1 billion yuan.

 (2) It has at least a single qualified major investor holding 20% or more of shares or multiple qualified major investors holding 25% or more of shares in total. The total assets of the aforesaid major investors in the year before filing the application are not less than 2 billion yuan or the net assets thereof are not less than 500 million yuan. The major investors have been engaged in banking, payment or clearing, and other business for five consecutive years or more, have earned profits for three consecutive years or more, and have no records of material violation of laws and regulations in the latest three years before filing the application. Any other single investor holding over 10% of shares has net assets of not less than 200 million yuan, has sustained profitability and sound reputation, and has no records of material violation of laws and regulations in the latest three years.

 (3) It has a standard bank card clearing system in line with national standards and industry standards.

 (4) It has infrastructure and remote disaster recovery system within the territory of the People's Republic of China which meet the relevant requirements and enable it to independently complete bank card clearing business.

 (5) Directors and senior executives shall obtain the qualifications approved by the PBC after soliciting consent from the CBRC.

 (6) It adopts internal control, risk prevention, information security assurance, and anti-money laundering measures in compliance with the relevant provisions, and satisfies other prudential requirements.

Banking financial institutions applying for formation of or investment in bank card clearing institutions shall report to the CBRC for approval according to the law.

2. An applicant applying to become a bank card clearing institution shall file a preparation application with the PBC in accordance with the provisions, and the PBC shall, after soliciting consent from the CBRC, make a decision approving or disapproving the preparation within 90 days of the date of acceptance. An applicant shall, within one year from the date of obtaining approval for preparation, complete the preparatory work, and shall not engage in bank card clearing business within the preparatory period.

After the preparatory work is completed, an applicant meeting the conditions of permit may file an application with the PBC for starting business. The PBC shall, after soliciting consent from the CBRC, make a decision approving or disapproving the application within 90 days of the date of acceptance. If an approval is to be granted, the PBC shall, after soliciting consent from the CBRC, grant a bank card clearing business permit.

An applicant shall, within six months of obtaining the bank card clearing business permit, officially provide bank card clearing services.

3. A bank card clearing institution shall apply to the PBC for the formation of a branch, division or merger, change in title, registered capital, single investor holding more than 10% of shares, or bank card clearing brand, replacement of directors and senior executives, termination of bank card clearing business in whole or in part, and dissolution. The PBC shall, after soliciting consent from the CBRC, make a decision on approval or disapproval within 90 days of the date of acceptance.

III . Management requirements for the business of bank card clearing institutions

1. A bank card clearing institution shall, in providing bank card clearing services, use the bank card clearing brands of its own or its investors.

2. A bank card clearing institution shall not restrict card issuing institutions and acquiring institutions from carrying out cooperation with other bank card clearing institutions.

3. A bank card clearing institution shall ensure the safety, high efficiency, and stability of the infrastructure of bank card clearing business, and ensure the integrity and veracity of the transaction data; and deal with business with domestic card issuing institutions and acquiring institutions through domestic infrastructure of bank card clearing business, and complete capital settlement within the territory of China.

4. A bank card clearing institution shall keep confidential the information obtained from the bank card clearing business and shall not provide them to others without authorization of the parties concerned, except as otherwise provided by laws and regulations. Personal financial information collected within the territory of China shall be stored, processed, and analyzed within the territory of China, except for dealing with cross-border transactions of bank cards and upon authorization by the parties concerned.

IV . Management regulations for foreign-funded bank card clearing institutions

1. An overseas institution which provides bank card clearing services to the parties within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall form a foreign-funded enterprise within the territory of China according to the law, and obtain a bank card clearing business permit according to the conditions and procedures prescribed in this Decision; and an overseas institution which only provides bank card clearing services in foreign currency to cross-border transactions is generally not required to form a bank card clearing institution within the territory of China, but shall report the business situation to the PBC and the CBRC and comply with relevant business management requirements.

2. A foreign investor merging and acquiring a bank card clearing institution shall be subject to security review of mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors in accordance with the relevant provisions.

V . Miscellaneous

Institutions which have been engaged in bank card clearing business within the territory of the People's Republic of China before this Decision's entry into force shall, within one year of this Decision's entry into force, apply for bank card clearing business permits or report the business situation to the PBC and the CBRC in accordance with the provisions of this Decision. Institutions failing to apply for bank card clearing business permits within the prescribed time limit shall not continue to engage in bank card clearing business; and institutions failing to report the business situation within the prescribed time limit shall be ordered by the PBC to make corrections within a time limit.

This Decision shall come into force on June 1, 2015.

State Council

April 9, 2015