Another payment institution has been penalized! Industry reshuffling accelerates, with over 100 licenses canceled in total

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Xie Zhongxiang

Another third-party payment institution has been penalized by regulators with a hefty fine!

Recently, the Fujian branch of the People’s Bank of China disclosed an administrative penalty notice showing that Fujian Xingyi Payment Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Xingyi Payment”) was warned for illegal activities and fined a total of 8.4719 million yuan. Public information indicates that this payment institution is a controlled subsidiary of Newland, a listed company on the A-share market.

A reporter from China Securities Journal noted that since 2026, multiple payment institutions have faced heavy regulatory penalties, with several fines exceeding 10 million yuan. In January, Yinsheng Payment was fined 15.8417 million yuan, and Lian Tong Payment was fined 38.4349 million yuan. Additionally, Hengxintong, Huifu Payment, Haike Rongtong Payment, and Sina Payment have all been fined over one million yuan.

Industry analysts told China Securities Journal that the payment industry has been undergoing accelerated cleanup and consolidation in recent years. As a financial and commercial infrastructure, raising entry barriers in the payment industry is inevitable. Based on recent developments, industry cleanup is a trend, and leading payment institutions are focusing more on their core businesses.

Fined 8.4719 million yuan, Xingyi Payment under Newland

On February 13, the Fujian branch of the People’s Bank of China issued an administrative penalty notice indicating that Xingyi Payment’s violations included: violating management regulations for acquiring businesses; conducting transactions with unidentified customers. As a result, the company received a regulatory warning, confiscated illegal gains of about 3.4219 million yuan, and was fined 5.05 million yuan, totaling 8.4719 million yuan in penalties. Additionally, Lin, a responsible person at the company, was warned and fined 190,000 yuan for related illegal activities.

A China Securities Journal reporter noted that shortly before this penalty was officially announced, Xingyi Payment issued a “Notice on Regulating Business Activities of Partners,” which strictly regulated the conduct of partners and sales staff. The notice also stated that if violations are verified, penalties will be issued according to the company’s compliance management standards, including suspending new partnerships, halting business expansion, and terminating cooperation.

According to its official website, Xingyi Payment was established in June 2010, is a controlled subsidiary of Newland, and holds a nationwide “Payment Business License” issued by the People’s Bank of China, making it a third-party payment institution. The company mainly provides digital payment, scene SaaS, digital marketing, and value-added services for merchants. In December last year, it was renamed from “Guotong Xingyi” to “Xingyi Payment.”

A China Securities Journal reporter observed that Xingyi Payment has been penalized multiple times in recent years for violations related to anti-money laundering, acquiring business management, and user rights protection.

In June 2025, Xingyi Payment’s Liaoning branch was fined 103,100 yuan for violating regulations related to non-financial institution payment services; in March 2024, it was fined 1.8 million yuan for violating transaction information management; in June 2023, it confiscated illegal gains of 401.99 yuan for providing T+0 services to non-compliant merchants; in 2021, due to 12 violations including anti-money laundering and reserve fund management, it was fined nearly 70 million yuan.

As one of Newland’s core financial licenses, Xingyi Payment has seen rapid business growth in recent years. According to Newland’s Q3 2025 report, in the first three quarters of 2025, the total transaction volume of payment services reached 1.62 trillion yuan, with nearly 570 billion yuan from July to September alone, a year-on-year increase of over 18%. Since Q3 2024, the trend of quarter-on-quarter growth has continued. According to Newland’s mid-2025 report, Guotong Xingyi (i.e., Xingyi Payment) achieved approximately 1.412 billion yuan in operating revenue and about 318 million yuan in net profit in the first half of 2025, both showing year-on-year growth.

Multiple fines exceeding 10 million yuan issued in the payment industry this year

In just over a month since 2026, at least 10 payment institutions have been penalized by regulators, with several fines exceeding 10 million yuan.

In January, Kai Lian Tong Payment was fined for failing to ensure transaction information was true, complete, and traceable; not strictly implementing risk monitoring requirements; not adhering to risk rating standards; conducting illegal transfers of payment accounts to non-matching bank accounts; and illegal T+0 settlement activities. The illegal gains of 25.5572 million yuan were confiscated, and a fine of 12.8777 million yuan was imposed, totaling 38.4349 million yuan in penalties.

In January, Yinsheng Payment was warned and publicly criticized by the Shenzhen branch of the People’s Bank of China for violations related to merchant management, clearing management, and account management, with total penalties of 15.8417 million yuan. Chairman Chen of Yinsheng Payment was also warned and fined 610,000 yuan for responsibility.

In the same month, Hengxintong was warned and publicly criticized by the Beijing branch of the People’s Bank for exceeding business scope, onboarding micro and small merchants with only ID documents, not setting transaction limits for barcode business, and providing illegal T+0 settlement services. It confiscated about 148,000 yuan of illegal gains and fined 6.83 million yuan, with total penalties close to 7 million yuan.

Several other payment institutions also received fines over 1 million yuan, including Huifu Payment (297.73 million yuan), Sina Payment (184.47 million yuan), and Haike Rongtong Payment (177.39 million yuan). Many violations involved payment settlement and anti-money laundering regulations.

An industry insider told China Securities Journal that these penalties not only demonstrate regulators’ continued efforts to combat money laundering but also serve as a reminder for payment institutions to prioritize anti-money laundering work and establish sound compliance management systems.

Industry licenses continue to be canceled, with over 100 deregistrations

In recent years, leading and major players in the payment industry have accelerated strategic expansion to meet compliance and capture market share, while smaller and mid-sized payment institutions face market exit and淘汰.

According to the People’s Bank of China official website, recent market exits include the cancellation of the payment license of Henan Juba Payment Co., Ltd. (formerly Henan Huiyin Feng Information Technology Co., Ltd.), making it the first payment institution to exit the market in 2026.

Juba Payment was established in 2011 and was the first company in Henan to obtain a payment license from the People’s Bank of China, initially authorized to issue and accept prepaid cards within Henan Province. After the 2024 reclassification of payment business types by the PBOC, its business type was officially adjusted to Type II stored-value account operation.

A China Securities Journal review shows that in 2025, 12 payment institutions had their licenses officially canceled. Reasons for exit include limited business scope, compliance issues, insufficient capital, lack of core competitiveness, and strategic contraction by parent companies. To date, 109 out of 271 issued payment licenses have been canceled. Among the canceled licenses, over 80% were related to prepaid card business.

Industry analysts told China Securities Journal that the increase in companies canceling prepaid card-related businesses is mainly due to the rapid shrinking of the prepaid card market and the stricter requirements introduced by the “Supervision and Administration Regulations on Non-bank Payment Institutions,” which tie business scope and expansion to net assets and registered capital, indicating tighter regulation on “regional restrictions,” “real-name systems,” and “fund flow monitoring.”

The same experts also noted that as a fundamental infrastructure for finance and commerce, raising industry entry barriers is inevitable. The ongoing industry cleanup is a general trend, and leading payment institutions are increasingly focusing on their core businesses.