A view of the PBC's headquarters in Beijing Photo: cnsphoto

In response to a trend towards discriminating and exclusion of using cash, China will carry out centralized rectification of the rejection of cash and the formation of sustainable mechanisms, said Li Wei, director of Technology Department of People's Bank of China (PBC) on Thursday.

Li said at the briefing that PBC will guide and regulate the use of cash in paying bills for water, electricity, gas, public utility, retail, catering, shopping malls, parks and other common service environments.

PBC will also strengthen supervision through conducting unannounced visits and inspections aimed at ensuring businesses, merchants and other institutions accept physical tender particularly when it may affect people's livelihood or causes public concern, Li said.

Recently, a video of an elderly woman in tears sitting at the counter of a local health administration office because the staff refuses to accept her cash went viral on Chinese social media. 

The National Healthcare and Security Administration announced on Tuesday that they had invested and punished the staff responsible. 

For the elderly members of the public, the PBC announced that they will organize relevant financing institutions to extend their service footprint by using more mobile devices, door-to-door services or remote services, said Li.