According to Ouyang Weimin, the director of the Payment System Department of the People's Bank of China, PBOC plans to issue licenses to Chinese online third-party payment platforms to bring more competition and a higher level of security into this sector of the industry.

Chinese technology products retail chain Buynow has formally launched its online store Buynow.com.cn after a long period of preparation.

According to China Mobile's Shanghai branch, its regulations related to micropayments made with mobile phones have been completed and consumers in Shanghai will soon be able to pay with mobile phones in McDonald's and Starbucks.

TSYS today announced that China UnionPay Data Services Company, TSYS' joint venture with China UnionPay, has signed a long-term credit card processing agreement with the Bank of East Asia.

Chinese Internet payment platform Yeepay.com says starting at 16:20 on January 14, 2009, the company's official website experienced large-scale hacker attacks.

According to Chinese online shopping platform Taobao.com, the company is currently deploying offline retail kiosks and payment points across China to complement the over 4,000 locations it has already opened in Beijing in such supermarkets and convenience stores as Vanguard, Lianhua and Hi-24.