According to sources last week, the Central Bank of China has fined almost seven businesses, including a KFC and branches, for refusing cash payments, all as Beijing impulses to make spending more available for overseas travelers.
The People’s Bank of China has been imposing such penalties for years. But the worker fixed this time operated for some of the country’s prime and most well-known businesses, showing how cashless payments have become so pervasive there.
The bank said it punished a KFC in Wuxi, Jiangsu, with about $4,140 for not accepting bank notes from a customer who ordered breakfast. Outlet employees who refused were fined about $410. As per the latest government data, the normal wage in Wuxi is $18,000 per year.
Other six fined businesses include branches for state-run corporations such as an Inner Mongolia branch of China Post, an office in Gansu for New China Life Insurance, and a Jiangsu office for insurance firm PICC (People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited) Property and Casualty.
China has instructed that local businesses always leave the door open for cash payments as it seeks to appeal to foreign investment and tourism after COVID-19.
Chinese people already trusted deeply in cashless and QR code payments before the pandemic, and the repetition has continued to gain popularity throughout the country’s lockdown years. Almost 80% of payments in China were made by the end of 2023 through smartphones.
According to the state media, that’s become an issue for foreigners arriving in a recently reopened China, where they struggled to find sellers who would take currency notes or credit cards too.
China has aimed to bridge the gap for foreign investments because of this may effect on the country’s economy. The main payment platforms, Alipay and WePay are currently permitting visitors to connect their international bank cards to their Chinese accounts. Single-transaction restrictions for foreigners were also raised up from $1,000 to $5,000.
In current year, Beijing has been telling businesses such as three-star hotels and cab businesses to start accepting international credit cards. For example, an online taxi company on the city announced that in April that it would arrange for 50 taxis to accept international credit cards. But, the larger transition has so far been slow, said an online taxi company in Shanghai. So, travel companies say there are over 50,000 licensed taxis active in the city.
For a successful country, tourism is a major source of income for China, with state-affiliated examiners forecasting the sector will bring in about $800 billion in 2024.
On the other hand, international arrivals have been covering. In 2023, only about 35 million foreign visitors toured to China, or almost 30% of pre-pandemic stages.
China’s cashless wave has also encouraged concerns for the elderly, with a central bank survey finding that 75% of the country’s senior citizens still use cash for purchases.
It’s prohibited in China to reject cash payments for purchases, and the central government’s crackdown has increased in the previous few years. Officials have been fining businesses such as car franchises that reject cash, while state media encourages the paper bill as the “most basic instrument of payment.”
Investor dealings for Yum China, which works at KFC in China, did not instantly reply to a request for comment sent by Business Insider. Source: “Business Insider”
