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Case payments can now be done by QR code, Shanghai high court says

Tian Shengjie
Payment related to legal cases, such as deposits and damages, can be paid via scanning a quick response (QR) code now, according to the Shanghai High People's Court.
Tian Shengjie

Payment related to legal cases, such as deposits and damages, can be paid via scanning a QR code now, the Shanghai High People's Court announced on Tuesday.

The online method has been used at the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court recently, with over 420,000 yuan (US$57,606) paid. It will be expanded to all local courts soon, the high court said.

Both Alipay and WeChat Pay options are available, it added.

In the past, bank transfer was the only way for a litigant to pay case-related money, which sometimes led to some problems.

For example, the name of the intermediate court is too long in Chinese to be an account name in the online system of some banks. So the litigant was forced go to the bank in person to make the payment.

"There are many inexperienced small and medium-sized litigants. We received a large amount of phone calls every day inquiring about the unsuccessful payment," Wu Gang, an official of the intermediate court, noted. "It is also time-wasting in terms of the trial."

After two months of development and testing, the new method was instituted for the convenience of the public with the help of the courts, banks and a technology company.

Each case will have its own QR code and the traditional payment method will continue, the high court said.


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