A hefty penalty has once again emerged in the payment industry by the end of 2025. Recently, the Guangdong Branch of the People's Bank of China issued an administrative penalty decision. Guangzhou HeliPay Payment Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "HeliPay") was given a warning and a public reprimand for four violations, including breaches of clearing management regulations, resulting in a total confiscation and fine of 74.8799 million yuan. A relevant responsible person was also fined 925,000 yuan. It is noted that within the administrative penalties of the payment industry, the fine imposed on HeliPay this time is at a relatively high level, reflecting the regulatory authorities' zero-tolerance stance towards violations in the payment sector. Following the announcement of the penalty, HeliPay's parent company, the A-share listed company *ST Rendong (Rendong Holdings Group Co.,Ltd., 002647.SZ), promptly responded, stating that HeliPay has completed a comprehensive self-inspection and rectification as required by the People's Bank of China. Notably, due to a severe debt crisis, *ST Rendong was ordered into restructuring at the end of 2024. Affected by *ST Rendong's restructuring, the central bank suspended its review of HeliPay's application for payment license renewal. This 74.88 million yuan fine against HeliPay may impact *ST Rendong's operational performance. In the first three quarters of 2025, *ST Rendong achieved operating revenue of 600 million yuan, a decrease of 35.68% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 367 million yuan, an increase of 356.65% year-on-year; and net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses was 41.6872 million yuan, an increase of 135.62% year-on-year.

Regulatory scrutiny in the payment industry is intensifying, leading to HeliPay's severe penalty. According to the administrative penalty decision published by the People's Bank of China Guangdong Branch at the end of 2025, HeliPay was given a warning and a public reprimand for four violations: breaching clearing management regulations, violating regulations on payment acceptance terminals and related business management, breaching merchant management regulations, and breaching account management regulations. It was fined 62.7997 million yuan and had illegal gains of 12.0802 million yuan confiscated, totaling 74.8799 million yuan. Concurrently, a relevant responsible person, Zhao Mousheng, was given a warning and fined 925,000 yuan for being held accountable for HeliPay's violations of payment and settlement management regulations, specifically concerning clearing management regulations. According to HeliPay's official website introduction, HeliPay is a leading payment technology enablement platform (T2B2C) in China, founded on July 19, 2013, and headquartered in Guangzhou. HeliPay holds a "Payment Business License" issued by the People's Bank of China, with business types including stored value account operation Category I and payment transaction processing Category I, covering the entire country. It possesses cross-border RMB business qualifications and is a leading domestic third-party payment institution. HeliPay's Hong Kong subsidiary, Heli Fu Service Limited, as a licensed entity, has obtained an MSO license from Hong Kong Customs, which is a compliance credential for engaging in money services such as currency exchange and remittance. HeliPay is also a council member of the China Payment & Clearing Association, a member of its Network Payment Application Working Committee, and a member of its Fintech Professional Committee. It is noted that a fine exceeding 70 million yuan represents a relatively high level within the administrative penalties of the payment industry, demonstrating the regulatory authorities' zero-tolerance attitude towards violations. In recent years, regulatory authorities have maintained a trend of strong and strict supervision over the payment industry. According to statistics from relevant media, prior to HeliPay's heavy penalty this time, regulatory authorities had issued over 75 fines in the payment industry since 2025, with confiscations and fines totaling over 200 million yuan. Notably, the intensity of inspections and penalties in areas such as payment clearing, anti-money laundering, and data security has continued to increase. Among these, in early 2025, Beijing Yaku Shikong Information Exchange Technology Co., Ltd. was fined and had illegal gains confiscated totaling 11.99 million yuan for eight violations, including failing to meet requirements for the authenticity, completeness, and traceability of transaction information. In February 2025, Huiju Pay was fined and had illegal gains confiscated totaling 10.6174 million yuan for violations including breaches of special merchant management regulations. In May 2025, Zhongtong Pay was fined and had illegal gains confiscated totaling 18.945 million yuan for ten major violations, including failing to establish relevant network interface systems as required. An industry insider analyzed that through high-frequency, high-value penalties, regulatory authorities are systematically eliminating long-standing hidden rules and grey operational spaces in the industry, such as chronic issues like one terminal serving multiple merchants and fraudulent merchant onboarding. For third-party payment institutions, relying solely on technological innovation and business model innovation is no longer sufficient to build a moat. Only by establishing a forward-looking, automated, fully integrated compliance and risk control system embedded within business processes, and transforming regulatory requirements into intrinsic business procedures, can they truly achieve stable and compliant operations.

Payment license renewal review has been suspended. Facing the severe regulatory penalty, HeliPay and its parent company, at the center of the storm, have formally responded to public concerns. After the penalty was announced, HeliPay's parent company, the A-share listed company *ST Rendong, issued an announcement stating that the aforementioned violations by HeliPay were discovered during a law enforcement inspection conducted by the Guangdong Branch of the People's Bank of China regarding HeliPay's compliance with payment and settlement management regulations during the period from September 1, 2022, to July 31, 2024. HeliPay has already paid the fine, and the company's production and operational activities are currently normal. *ST Rendong stated that the company and HeliPay attach great importance to the issues pointed out in this inspection by the PBOC Guangdong Branch. HeliPay has completed a comprehensive self-inspection and rectification work as required by the People's Bank of China. HeliPay will continue to implement all regulatory requirements, adhere to risk bottom lines, conduct regular self-inspections and corrections, and continuously improve its internal control system and business processes to ensure stable and compliant business operations. It is noted that in 2016, *ST Rendong acquired HeliPay's third-party payment license through the acquisition of Guangdong Heli. Currently, HeliPay is the operating entity for *ST Rendong's third-party payment business, and *ST Rendong's wholly-owned subsidiary, Guangdong Heli, holds a 95% stake in HeliPay. According to disclosures by *ST Rendong, from 2017 to the first half of 2025, Guangdong Heli achieved operating revenues of 867 million yuan, 1.22 billion yuan, 1.281 billion yuan, 1.206 billion yuan, 1.682 billion yuan, 1.607 billion yuan, 1.733 billion yuan, 1.087 billion yuan, and 380 million yuan, respectively. Net profits were 84.2627 million yuan, 142 million yuan, 131 million yuan, 84.2704 million yuan, 96.7713 million yuan, 47.5953 million yuan, -22.887 million yuan, 78.3233 million yuan, and 50.4943 million yuan, respectively. However, affected by various factors including the macroeconomic situation and the tightening financing environment for private enterprises, *ST Rendong fell into a severe debt crisis and was ordered into restructuring in December 2024. In March 2025, *ST Rendong completed its restructuring. In the first three quarters of 2025, *ST Rendong achieved operating revenue of 600 million yuan, a decrease of 35.68% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 367 million yuan, an increase of 356.65% year-on-year, mainly due to gains from debt restructuring, etc.; net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses was 41.6872 million yuan, an increase of 135.62% year-on-year. Previously, *ST Rendong had reported losses for six consecutive years. This 74.88 million yuan fine against HeliPay may impact *ST Rendong's performance. More alarmingly, affected by its parent company's restructuring, HeliPay's payment license renewal has encountered obstacles. Information shows that the validity period of HeliPay's payment business license expired on July 9, 2024. According to relevant provisions of the "Implementation Rules for the Supervision and Administration Regulations of Non-Bank Payment Institutions," the validity period was transitioned until July 9, 2025. On July 4, 2025, the People's Bank of China published the "Public Information on the Renewal (Re-licensing) of 'Payment Business Licenses' for Non-Bank Payment Institutions (First Batch, July 2025)" on its official website. Because HeliPay's indirect controlling shareholder, Rendong Holdings, entered restructuring procedures at the time of its renewal application, the People's Bank of China decided to suspend the review of HeliPay's application in accordance with relevant regulations. During the suspension period, all of HeliPay's business operations are conducted normally. *ST Rendong also stated this time that currently, the renewal of HeliPay's payment license is still in the suspended review stage, and all business operations during this stage are normal. HeliPay maintains close communication with regulatory authorities and is actively promoting the early resolution of matters related to the suspension circumstances. Once the circumstances leading to the administrative license review suspension disappear, HeliPay will promptly submit a report to the People's Bank of China.