China will limit the amount of money consumers can transfer to third-party online payment platforms, aiming to protect banks and consumers from fraud amid an explosion of online and mobile payment transactions.

Banks will be obliged to limit how much money an individual can transfer to platforms such as Alibaba Group Holding’s Alipay per transaction or on a single day, based on the person’s financial status, showed a document issued by the central bank and banking regulator.

Lenders such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd already limit transfers to Alipay to 50,000 yuan ($8,000) per month, in part to slow deposits leaving for high-yielding money-market funds such as Alibaba’s Yu’e Bao.

But by June 30, all banks must be prepared to implement transaction limits and also establish a means of verifying consumers’ identities when they link their accounts at third-party payment platforms to their bank accounts.

“The requirements governing the establishment of business relations between commercial banks and third-party payment institutions are aimed at strengthening management of such business,” the regulators said in the document.

“They are also put forward to protect the safety of commercial bank clients’ information, funds and bank accounts and maintain the clients’ legitimate rights.”

The document from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), dated April 3, was reported by the official Shanghai Securities News on Friday and published in full on the website of China Business News.

It comes at a time absent of any obvious increase in online fraud, and the rules do not contain more draconian measures that local media reported were under consideration, such as limiting individual transfers to 5,000 yuan or a monthly total of 10,000 yuan.

Online boom

China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest online retail economy this year, according to consultancy McKinsey, after online and mobile payments rose 47 percent last year to 5.37 trillion yuan ($863.48 billion), showed data from Beijing-based consultancy iResearch.

The surge has fuelled a clash between banks and internet companies who are pushing into financial services such as online payments and wealth management products.

Funds under Alibaba’s Yu’e Bao nearly tripled to 541 billion yuan over the three months ended March, according to a quarterly earnings report released late on Thursday by Tianhong Asset Management Co, an Alibaba affiliate which manages Yu’e Bao funds.

Alibaba rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd and Baidu Inc offer similar money-market funds and payment services. This week, Baidu launched a new mobile wallet application.

Reuters previously reported that the China Banking Association was lobbying for restrictions on online financial products that would reduce the outflow of traditional bank deposits into wealth management products linked to third-party payment platforms.

Among other measures announced in the authorities’ document, banks will have to set up virtual private networks (VPNs), firewalls and other dedicated channels to prevent the third parties from accessing the banks’ internal data.

Banks must also analyse clients’ ability to sustain risk before letting them make payments through third parties, and conduct real-time supervision of clients’ third-party payment activity.

“Commercial banks must include their third-party payment business in overall risk control mechanisms,” the central bank and regulator said in the document.

© Thomson Reuters 2014

Seven years after he was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife by setting her afire, a man has been acquitted by the Bombay High Court.

The court held that the dying declarations of the victim were contradictory and not enough for the conviction of 42-year-old Akaram Malappa Aaivale, who was in jail since being held guilty in April 2007 by a Kolhapur sessions court for the death of Vijaymala, his wife of 22 years. Also, it said, the evidence could not rule out suicide.

He too had sustained 10 per cent burn injuries in the incident which occurred in 2006. Being aggrieved, he filed an appeal in the High Court which set him free two days ago, by giving him the benefit of doubt on account of “weak evidence”.

“In our opinion, the conviction of the appellant cannot be sustained on the basis of dying declaration alone. All other witnesses, including the daughter of the appellant and mother of deceased Vijaymala, did not support the prosecution and were declared hostile,” said a bench headed by Justice P V Hardas.

The court also took into account the evidence tendered by the mother of deceased that on account of the demise of Vijaymala’s son-in-law, the latter had become mentally disturbed.

“In such a situation, therefore, according to us the possibility of deceased Vijaymala committing suicide on account of trivial quarrel between the appellant and Vijaymala cannot be ruled out,” said the judges.

Moreover, the judges held that Dr. Shashikant Dhumale has admitted that injuries sustained by the appellant were possible in an attempt at dousing the flames.

The possibility of Vijaymala committing suicide is certainly rendered probable in the light of the dying declaration as recorded in medical case papers, the bench observed.

The entire evidence rested on two declarations given by the deceased to Nayab Tehsildar Ranjeet Desai and head constable Dinkar Kawale.

According to the prosecution, the husband had killed his wife as he suspected her character.

However, the court held that in the dying declaration recorded by the head constable, there is no reference to the appellant suspecting the chastity of Vijaymala prior to the day of the incident.

“It is unbelievable that the appellant after more than 22 years of the marriage would suddenly start suspecting the chastity of his wife on the day of the incident and set her ablaze,” the judges observed.

In the dying declaration recorded by the constable, Vijaymala had stated that she had been set ablaze by the appellant as he was suspecting her character. She said that the appellant had poured kerosene from a container and lit a match-stick and set her ablaze.

However, in the history narrated and which is found in medical case papers in another dying declaration recorded by Nayab Tahsildar, there is a total absence of any averment about the appellant setting Vijaymala ablaze, the bench noted.

“All that is stated is that Vijaymala had sustained burns at 4.45 p.M. Or one hour prior to her admission in the hospital,” the bench said.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray has reaffirmed his support to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and ruled out any merger between the two parties.

Days after being snubbed by BJP chief Rajnath Singh for his “unsolicited” support to Modi in the post-poll scenario, the MNS chief was quoted as saying, “My support was for BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and not the saffron party.”

“MNS is not a party like the ones in UP and Bihar, which the BJP chief should remember,” Raj said while taking a dig at BJP chief Rajnath Singh and added that he had only appreciated the good work done by Modi.

He said that in 2011 he had also stated that Modi should become the Prime Minister of the country and that he stood by his word even now.

Raj said this last night while addressing an election meeting for MNS candidate from Thane Abhijit Phanse.

“Tomorrow even if the BJP comes to power at the Centre, we will not take and will not ask for any berth in the Cabinet,” the MNS chief said.

On the occasion, Raj also said that his party will strive to get national recognition for Marathi language in the country.

He criticised the Naik family for “gharaneshai” (dynasty) whose members were holding all important positions leaving no space for others.

Raj also condemned the recent ink attack on noted historian Babasaheb Purandare in the state.

On the occasion, he said that their agitation against toll fee was presently suspended due to the elections and once the polls end, they will renew the protest.

He also said that the present MPs and candidates do not know what work was to be done by an MP and what work comes under the domain of a civic body.

In a show of strength in Maharashtra for the third and final phase of elections in the state on April 24, the Shiv Sena-BJP and Congress-NCP combine are leaving no stone unturned to draw huge crowd at their rallies.

A whopping amount of money is being spent to organise rallies, which would be addressed by stalwarts of the respective parties.

For the April 20 rally organised by the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC), which will be addressed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other leaders from the state, the party has spent over Rs. 30 lakh for the event at Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) ground, according to sources.

The city Congress unit has spent Rs. 30,63,853, including Rs. 22,97,890 as security deposit and Rs. 3,78,692 as service tax, for the mega-rally, which will also see participation of alliance partners Nationalist Congress Party and People’s Republican Party, headed by Prof Jogendra Kawade, they said.

“It is going to be a massive rally. We have done massive preparations for it. We are expecting a huge turnout. A meeting in this regard was held with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and other senior party leaders,” MRCC chief Janardhan Chandurkar said.

The party unit has asked every MLA from the city and suburbs to ensure a crowd of about 5,000 with them. “We have around 20 MLAs and MLCs who have been entrusted the task,” Chandurkar said.

Similarly, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine has also spent about Rs. 34 lakhs for their joint rally, which will be addressed by BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on April 21, sources said.

Mumbai is crucial for the Congress, which had won five out of the six Lok Sabha seats in 2009. The sixth seat was bagged by its alliance partner NCP.