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Tencent has been facing a fine for violations of central bank regulations by its WeChat Pay mobile network after Beijing toughened its regulations for fintech platforms, as related by The Wall Street Journal.
Financial regulators recently discovered that WeChat Pay had flouted China’s AML rules and had lapses in compliance with KYC and KYB regulations, among other things. Tencent’s mobile payments network was also found to have allowed the transfer and laundering of funds with illicit transactions such as gambling.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) uncovered the breaches during a routine inspection of WeChat Pay that concluded in late 2021. The size of the fine is still under deliberation, and it could be at least hundreds of millions of yuan, as per The Wall Street Journal.
Tencent has so far been unscathed by Beijing’s crackdown on big internet platforms that began in late 2020.
Tenpay Payment Technology, the licenced entity that runs WeChat Pay, was previously hit with small fines that typically were less than USD 1.57 million. The new fines are likely to be higher because China is seeking to bring its AML enforcement up to international standards.
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