Payment service denies wrongdoing

• Source: Global Times
• [10:48 June 18 2010]
• Comments

By Tang Zhao

99Bill has around 62 million registered users and expects to process 400 billion yuan in transactions this year, four times the amount it processed in 2009. Photo: Global Times

A Shanghai-headquartered independent third-party payment service provider has denied accusations that it has been breaking currency conversion restrictions in the course of its operations.

A manager from the company, 99Bill, who asked not to be identified, told the Global Times that as the company does not offer foreign exchange services, the accusations are "groundless."

Someone claiming to be a former employee of 99Bill posted accusations on several popular Chinese forums that the company was breaking government regulations by providing a foreign exchange service without partnering with a bank, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday.

According to the poster, customers could use 99Bill to purchase items denominated in foreign currencies being sold from overseas websites.

However, the poster said that 99Bill's employees would perform the currency exchanges in their own names on behalf of customers, rather than passing customer details on to a third-party bank to deal with the transaction.

The manager that the Global Times spoke to said that 99Bill does in fact work with banks to conduct the exchanges.

"Any foreign exchange transaction is completed by our partnered banks," the manager said. "99Bill acts as an agent in these transactions, helping the banks find more potential business. As such, we do not require a license to do foreign exchange settlements because we are not doing so."