On December 15th, the People's Bank of China issued Announcement No. 18, emphasizing that the renminbi is China's legal tender, and renminbi cash is the most basic payment method in China, and no unit or individual may refuse to accept it.

 The central bank said that after recent years of publicity and rectification, the problem of rejection of RMB cash has been generally eased, but there are still some businesses and institutions that are unwilling to receive cash.

One is that some basic public services such as medical care, travel, water, electricity and gas, as well as general living consumption have gradually changed from the original “face-to-face” offline scenes to online processing, and some even canceled on-site services; the second is “contactless” "Many of the new consumption models do not consider the demand for cash receipts and payments, causing some groups, especially the elderly, to consume and pay obstacles; third, some merchant service personnel are keen to guide customers to install APP and pay attention to small programs, which are prone to discrimination and exclusion of cash.

 The central bank also stated that it encourages the harmonious development of payment methods and respects the public's right to choose.

All types of entities should respect the public's right to choose payment methods, and provide the public with legal and safe non-cash payment tools under the premise of ensuring the smooth flow of cash payment channels.

Editor in charge: [Sun Jingbo]