I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 589: How to be bright when you are born with beauty
"Payment license" is a common term; the correct name is "Payment Business License for Non-bank Payment Institutions".

"President Pan, Chairman Cao, Ele.me currently holds a 72% share of the food delivery market and is also involved in hotel, tourism, and supermarket group buying, involving a large amount of capital flow. If it had its own payment license for online payments, it would help reduce costs."

"Furthermore, we need to cooperate deeply with Jinghai Bank in this regard, which will also indirectly promote the development of Jinghai Bank's internet finance," Fang Qingye concluded.

After listening, Chairman Cao smiled and said, "This matter is mainly managed by the central bank and has nothing to do with our China Banking Regulatory Commission."

"That's not necessarily true," Bank Manager Pan replied, then looked at Fang Qingye: "What do you plan to do?"

"Ele.me and Jinghai Bank will jointly invest in establishing a company in accordance with the relevant regulations of the People's Bank of China to carry out Internet and mobile payment business. The company will mainly provide online payment for Ele.me. Of course, if conditions permit in the future, it can also provide online payment for other compliant enterprises."

After a moment's thought, President Pan said, "Here's what we'll do, President Fang. First, you should establish the company in accordance with the 'Administrative Measures for Payment Services of Non-Financial Institutions' issued by the People's Bank of China, prepare the relevant materials and submit them to the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, and then proceed with the approval process step by step according to the relevant procedures."

"Ok."

Fang Qingye was secretly delighted.

Although President Pan did not give a clear answer, his tone was very much in line with the agreement, provided, of course, that the materials prepared by your company are compliant.

Haha, if Ele.me gets a payment license, it will be a huge boost. Let's see how Meituan tries to compete!
After seeing off President Pan and the others, Fang Qingye immediately called Chen Danlu, who had already returned to Shanghai, to briefly explain the situation and ask him to go to Tuofang Technology Company at 2 pm the next day for a meeting with Ele.me executives.

Chen Danlu was naturally overjoyed; this was a very happy occasion.

This is yet another way for Jinghai Bank to generate profits!
Furthermore, all of the huge customer reserve funds can be legitimately deposited into the Pudong branch!
“Okay, I’ll attend on time,” Chen Danlu immediately agreed.

Fang Qingye called Zhang Xuhao from Ele.me again. He was not in Shanghai but was on a business trip in Chengdu.

Recently, he has been competing fiercely with Ele.me and Meituan in major southwestern cities such as Chongqing, Chengdu, and Guiyang, so he personally oversaw operations in Chengdu.

Upon hearing Fang Qingye's call, he excitedly danced around in the hotel room: "If Ele.me gets a payment license, Meituan is nothing! Our target should be Alibaba and WeChat!"

"Don't get too excited. Whether it will be approved in the end is still unknown," Fang Qingye said.

"Chairman Fang, you can hold a national financial conference in your Nanxin County. What can't you do?" Zhang Xihao now admired Fang Qingye to the point of prostration.

He may seem like a hands-off manager, carefree all day, but when he does take action, he can solve big problems!
"I'm flying back tonight to attend the meeting with Chenyang!"

On June 15th at noon, in Fang Qingye's office at Tuofang Technology, Zhang Xuhao and Wang Chenyang from Ele.me, and Chen Danlu and Ren Yaling from Jinghai Bank, held a meeting chaired by Fang Qingye to discuss the establishment of a payment company.

Finally, it was decided that each of the two companies would invest 100 million yuan, each holding 50% of the shares in the new company. Fang Qingye, the legal representative of both companies, would also serve as the legal representative of the new company, but Ren Yaling would be responsible for the specific preparations for the new company.

Effective immediately, Ren Yaling has resigned from her position as deputy branch manager of Jinghai Bank Pudong Branch. She has been assigned to a preparatory team composed of employees from Jinghai and Ele.me to serve as the head of the preparatory team for the new company. After the new company is established, it will sign a strategic agreement with Zhiyun Technology, which will provide technical support.

The company's operating location remains at the Shanghai International Financial Building, and the new company name is Baopay Payment Technology Co., Ltd.

The two entities subsequently convened board meetings and president meetings, and the resolution was passed unanimously.

Of course, as a joint-stock company, Ele.me still needs to hold a shareholders' meeting for review. However, due to its dual-class share structure, despite two rounds of financing, Ele.me's core team retains control. Holding the shareholders' meeting is essentially just a formality.

Ele.me is going to obtain a payment license!
This news quickly spread among major investment institutions.

The investors who invested in Ele.me are happy. If Ele.me can really obtain a payment license and enter the Internet finance industry, with its massive user data, wouldn't it become the next Tencent and Alibaba?
Congratulatory and inquiring calls poured in from Ele.me and Jinghai Bank executives, with Fang Qingye receiving the most calls of all.

His standard answer is: "Yes, that's true, and it's currently being prepared."

Of course, there were also those who were unhappy with what they heard.

Wang Xing of Meituan is one of them.

Upon hearing the news, he was furious and his face turned ashen. He immediately called Gan Jiawei and asked him to come to his office to discuss the matter.

Gan Jiawei remained quite calm.

"This was expected. Ele.me's chairman, Fang Qingye, comes from a financial background and is the president of Jinghai Bank. I heard that one of his companies, called Zhiyun Technology, is developing a new generation of payment system and is commercially operating it at Jinghai Bank. The People's Bank of China even held an on-site observation meeting in Nanxin for this purpose. Given all these factors, it was only a matter of time before Ele.me applied for a payment license."

“Then Meituan will apply too!” Wang Xing said immediately.

Gan Jiawei did not answer, appearing somewhat silent.

"What? Ele.me can apply, so why can't we at Meituan?!" Wang Xing retorted.

“Of course.” Gan Jiawei looked at Wang Xing: “The problem is that it is easy to apply but very difficult to get approved. After Baidu’s Baipay and Sina Pay obtained the seventh batch of third-party payment licenses issued by the People’s Bank of China in July last year (2013), the People’s Bank of China began to strictly control the review process.”

"So what? They're strict with the approval process for Meituan, but are they any less strict with Ele.me?!" Wang Xing retorted, somewhat unconvinced.

"Mr. Wang, didn't you understand what I meant just now?" Gan Jiawei's eyes flashed with a hint of sarcasm: "The People's Bank of China just held an observation meeting in Nanxin, and Ele.me immediately released the news that it was going to set up a new company to apply for a payment license. Don't you think the timing is too coincidental?!"

Wang Xing immediately understood: "You mean, Ele.me's application for a payment license has already received the tacit approval of the central bank leadership?!"

"I'm just speculating, but the possibility exists." Gan Jiawei's tone remained calm: "After all, Fang Qingye is a bank president himself. Being close to the source gives him an advantage, and everyone understands this principle. Besides, Ele.me itself has the capability to achieve this."

After listening, Wang Xing opened his mouth as if to say something but couldn't say anything. In the end, he just sighed deeply and looked somewhat dejected.

Gan Jiawei felt a pang of sympathy, and he couldn't help but recall an ancient saying: "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?"

Of course, he couldn't say these words aloud. He comforted Wang Xing for a few moments before leaving and returning to his office.

Looking at the bustling traffic outside, Gan Jiawei pondered for a while, then took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Mr. Ma, I am Gan Jiawei."

(End of this chapter)