The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) granted third party electronic payment licenses to 27 companies, reports Shenzhen Economic Daily, citing the central bank’s website.
The market had expected 32 companies to obtain the licenses.
Four Shenzhen-based companies, including Tenpay, the online payments provider of Tencent Holdings, were included in the list of 27 companies which obtained the licenses.
It was reported that the majority of the companies had obtained licenses to operate nationwide while two companies won approval to conduct business only in Beijing.
The licenses allow the companies to engage in foreign exchange transactions, payments through mobile phones and the Internet, debit card services and the issuance of prepaid cards.
According to the report, Alibaba.com's Alipay.com and 99BILL.Com won approval to offer a broader range of services than the other companies.