City highlights rules for prepaid cards

Shanghai has issued new regulations on commercial prepaid cards, further specifying rules and policies in terms of information management, risk control and regular supervision.

The city government's "Implementation Measures on Single Purpose Commercial Prepaid Cards" was issued on April 1 this year and officially took effect on May 1. 

The measures clarify procedures for building information connection, asking proprietors to register on the city's regulation service platform and submit the contracts of the single purpose card sales and the companies' financial statements for the previous year.

Also, by the end of each day, business operators should post the card number, value and account balance of the single use cards that are issued or redeemed on the previous day.

For each quarter of the year, business information of the previous quarter shall be submitted within the first 25 days, including revenue of the main business, profit, the amount of capital expenditure received in advance and the main uses.

Consumers who have problems with prepaid cards can complain on the official one-stop online platform for government services.

Through public bidding, 10 banks have been approved as depository banks for single purpose prepaid cards in the city, including the Shanghai branches of Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Bank of Shanghai.

Meanwhile, the city has chosen three underwriting insurance agencies to offer financial services — China People's Insurance Group Co, China Pacific Insurance Group Co and Ping An Insurance Group.