The move is aimed to enhance the supervision on payment trading in RMB, standardize reports on RMB payment trading, and ward off money laundering and other criminal activities by means of payments and clearing through banks, a bank spokesman said.

He said RMB payment trading referred to money payments and capital clearing by both institutions and individuals in their social and economic activities, which can occur via bills, bank cards, remittance, collection and acceptance, authorized collection, on-line payment and cash.

The procedure provides a detailed description of large-sum and suspicious payment trading, and spells out specific penalties for counter activities.

The procedure will come into effect on March 1, 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2003)