Alipay Awarded Third-Party Payment License

(Beijing) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC) on May 26 released the first batch of licenses for third-party payment services to 27 operators, including Alipay, previously wholly-owned by the country's largest e-commerce provider Alibaba Group.

The PBOC, China's central bank, issued licensing regulations last June for third-party payment providers. It also issued separate guidelines for foreign-funded payment institutions.