Another OTA platform ventures into the payment industry. On September 25th, it was exclusively revealed that eLong Network Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "eLong Network"), an affiliated company of Tongcheng Group, has acquired a payment license by purchasing 100% equity of Xinsheng Payment Limited Company (hereinafter referred to as "Xinsheng Payment"). Currently, Xinsheng Payment's business registration information has been partially updated, and according to informed sources, relevant information will also be disclosed by the People's Bank of China. Regarding the strategic considerations, eLong Network responded that after completing the acquisition, the company will directly benefit from the development of Hainan Free Trade Port, using payment as a bridge to actively seize strategic opportunities in cross-border trade and tourism consumption, while providing support for the continued digital transformation of tourism consumption scenarios.

**Acquiring Xinsheng Payment for License**

According to informed sources, Tongcheng obtained this payment license through full acquisition, with eLong Network as the acquiring entity.

Looking at the acquisition target, Xinsheng Payment was established in 2008 with a registered capital of 100 million RMB, originally belonging to HNA Group. It obtained payment business permission from the central bank in 2011, initially authorized to conduct internet payment and prepaid card issuance and acceptance services. After merging the payment business of Zhejiang Shengju Payment Technology Co., Ltd., it added bank card acquiring services (Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Hainan Province, Fujian Province, Sichuan Province). With industry regulations redefining payment business types, Xinsheng Payment is currently authorized to conduct stored-value account operation Class I, stored-value account operation Class II (nationwide), and payment transaction processing Class I (Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Hainan Province, Fujian Province, Sichuan Province), with licenses valid until May 2026.

In fact, as the payment industry enters a mature stage and new license applications are restricted, acquiring licenses through acquisition has become virtually the only option for those seeking to enter the market. Meanwhile, some small and medium-sized payment institutions have been forced to "sell themselves" due to poor operations or legal disputes. In 2018, HNA Group held an asset transfer promotion meeting, intending to sell 100% equity of Xinsheng Payment, but there was no follow-up.

Regarding the choice of transaction target, industry insiders explained that Xinsheng Payment, as one of the first batch of third-party payment institutions to obtain the People's Bank of China's "Payment Business License," is not only the only payment legal entity in Hainan Province with full licenses, but also an important participant in cross-border e-commerce digital RMB trials. With Hainan Free Trade Port's closure scheduled for the end of 2025, Hainan will enter a new stage of building a high-level free trade port, and Xinsheng Payment, with complete cross-border payment qualifications, will gain more development opportunities.

"On one hand, the license qualifications are comprehensive. Xinsheng Payment's business types are diverse, including not only internet payment qualifications but also bank card acquiring, prepaid card issuance and acceptance, and cross-border RMB payment qualifications. It may also apply for cross-border RMB exchange qualifications in the future, fully meeting the needs of various business lines. On the other hand, it has inherent regional advantages, allowing fastest access to Hainan Free Trade Port preferential policies," the industry insider said.

**Benefiting from Tourism Consumption**

The choice of Xinsheng Payment also reflects Tongcheng's overall consideration of seizing cross-border and tourism consumption opportunities. eLong Network responded that after completing the acquisition, the company will directly benefit from Hainan Free Trade Port development, using payment as a bridge to actively seize strategic opportunities in cross-border trade and tourism consumption, while providing support for the continued digital transformation of tourism consumption scenarios.

Testing revealed that the Tongcheng Travel App mainly provides hotel booking, flight booking, train ticket purchasing, taxi services, covering many popular domestic and international tourist cities, and also includes performance tickets, movie tickets, and mileage mall services. Available payment methods for these services include WeChat Pay, Alipay, and bank cards.

Of course, compliance is another factor that cannot be ignored. In recent years, financial regulatory authorities have continuously emphasized that financial businesses must operate with proper licenses. According to the "Non-bank Payment Institution Supervision and Management Regulations," those who establish non-bank payment institutions or engage in payment business without proper authorization will be shut down by the People's Bank of China and have their illegal gains confiscated.

"Without a payment license previously, cooperation with external licensed payment institutions was necessary, generating high service fees and channel costs. Payment is a high-frequency service that helps platforms accumulate user authorization data and cross-sell other financial services, expanding service depth and breadth," said Du Juan, Senior Researcher at Suzhou Commercial Bank Research Institute.

It's worth noting that obtaining a license is just the beginning. For platforms, besides planning related business layouts, subsequent compliance challenges must be faced. For institutions holding internet payment and bank card acquiring qualifications, anti-money laundering, customer identity verification, transaction account management, reserve fund management, and clearing management are all potential pitfalls.

Su Xiaorui, Senior Researcher at Suxi Intelligence Research, further emphasized that given the current strong regulatory environment in the third-party payment industry, with million-yuan or even ten-million-yuan fines appearing multiple times this year, it's recommended that Tongcheng improve its payment compliance and internal control systems as soon as possible after acquiring the payment license, learning from internet platforms' previous experiences in the payment field and continuously refining payment management and risk control mechanisms.

**Orderly Expansion of Service Boundaries**

It was noted that Tongcheng Group currently indirectly holds multiple other types of financial licenses, and Ctrip, another leading OTA, has long been involved in payment, microfinance, and consumer finance.

A payment license is undeniably important for internet players in building account systems and improving ecosystems. Su Xiaorui stated that a certain short video platform, due to lagging behind other content flow platforms in obtaining payment licenses, still has its consumer finance business in the development stage. The same applies to the OTA sector. Ctrip holds stakes in licensed consumer finance companies, and its wholly-owned online microloan subsidiary has more mature profitability and ABS issuance capabilities. Additionally, its flagship product "Naquhan" leverages the payment license's account system to directly embed credit products into OTA scenarios, significantly improving the efficiency of monetizing scenario traffic through financial services.

Building financial ecosystems and forming closed loops between business and traffic has become a necessary path for current internet giants. Senior industry professionals evaluated Tongcheng's move as follows: First, it improves license layout and strengthens compliance foundation. Currently, leading platforms' financial business development has shifted from "scale expansion" to "quality improvement" stage. Payment licenses, as key infrastructure for financial business, help enterprises orderly expand service boundaries within compliance frameworks.

Second, it strengthens business synergy and builds ecosystem closed loops. "Payment, as the underlying support for commercial transactions, is the core hub connecting users, merchants, and scenarios. Using payment tools as an entry point, enterprises can not only connect the full chain of C-end consumption and B-end services but also integrate multi-party resources through open platforms, enhancing overall business stickiness and vitality."

Finally, it addresses industry competition and enhances digital capabilities. Against the backdrop of continuous digital transformation, core licenses such as payment and consumer finance have become "standard configurations" for leading enterprises. Improving license systems not only helps build more complete financial business segments but also injects strong momentum for enterprises' continued transformation in the digital economy era.