On the evening of February 22, the China Payment and Clearing Association issued an announcement that in order to provide more accurate and convenient payment services, a new "personal operation collection code" will be set up, and users can freely choose to use it. The current "Personal Collection Code" is not closed, does not stop, and the function remains unchanged.
This means that after March 1, the personal payment code can still be used. Shortly after the announcement was released, WeChat and Alipay also issued announcements to further clarify and improve the relevant functions of personal operation collection codes, including upgrading personal collection codes to personal business collection codes for free.
Do not close, do not stop, the function remains unchanged, the three "no" statements, so that the majority of small and small merchants and hawkers at ease; "users can freely choose to use" the description, is equivalent to the choice of two kinds of collection code to the vendor, to avoid the policy "one size fits all" caused by the drawbacks, which is a positive response to some previous user concerns.
▲WeChat Pay Announcement on The Situation Related to Personal Collection Codes. Photo/Screenshot of WeChat Pay service account
As we all know, in October last year, the central bank issued the "Notice of Chinese Bank on Strengthening the Management of Payment Acceptance Terminals and Related Businesses", which adjusted the bar code payment, and then the news that "WeChat and Alipay collection codes cannot be used as operating collections" quickly rushed to the hot search. Despite the central bank's clarification, the relevant provisions still caused some merchants to worry. For example, whether upgrading from a personal collection code to a personal business collection code will increase the inconvenience and whether it will increase the burden of taxation.
Improving the tax supervision of related business activities is, of course, the meaning of the topic. But in fact, the previous policy is more to plug the risk loopholes of bar code payment and ensure the safety of the funds of the majority of merchants.
For example, some people use personal static collection barcodes to transfer gambling funds online with gamblers, and "personal static collection codes are prohibited from being used for remote non-face-to-face collection" and other relevant regulations, which are precisely to plug relevant loopholes and avoid criminals from using collection codes to transfer illegal gains.
Of course, policy adjustments based on regulatory chaos or illegal behaviors such as online gambling, money laundering, and fraud may indeed have an impact on merchants.
In particular, personal collection codes and personal business collection codes involve some professional terms, and some small traders and hawkers who make a living on the street are inevitably easily misled by rumors and misjudged. For example, the mistaken belief that business activities of merchants and individuals should be deliberately restricted, which in turn will cause unnecessary concerns about the increase in operating costs.
This time, the relevant announcements of the China Payment and Clearing Association and WeChat and Alipay are equivalent to fixing points and stopping disputes, promptly appeasing the people's uneasiness, and letting the majority of users choose whether to upgrade to the operating collection code. Moreover, according to the announcements of the two payment platforms, the upgrade collection code is also equipped with a series of favorable measures, which further eliminates the worries of cost increases.
▲ A citizen scanned the code to pay after buying vegetables at the Yuzhong Street Vegetable Market in Lanzhou City. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
With the continuous popularization of mobile payment, the form of scan code payment has brought convenience to consumers, and also provided convenience to the majority of small traders, and the scene covered by bar code payment is getting wider and wider.
For merchants, the personal collection code can be used without special business registration, which is simple, convenient and fast. Therefore, giving them the right to free choice to meet the diversified payment needs of users is a move in line with public opinion and avoids increasing the burden.
According to the announcement, next, the China Payment and Clearing Association will continue to guide relevant payment units, continue to improve the function of collection code service, and enhance the security of bar code payment. This shows that the improvement of the bar code payment business is to continuously pursue a balance - without increasing the burden on merchants, while improving the supervision of funds, to continuously reduce the loopholes of money laundering, gambling and other drilling camps of criminals.
Whether it is a personal collection code or a personal operation collection code, in general, the bar code payment business will continue to develop in a more convenient and secure direction. Of course, only by taking into account the legitimate rights and interests of merchants and consumers and preventing risks in the field of payment and settlement, the bar code payment business will develop healthily and sustainably.
Special Commentator | Xiong Zhi (Media Person)
Edit | Li Xiaoxiao
Proofreading | Wang Xin