The Ministry of Transport ("MOT") has recently drafted, in concert with relevant departments, the Administrative Measures for User Funds Charged under Emerging Transport Business Models (for Trial Implementation) (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") which are published for public consultation by April 3, 2019.
The Draft for Comment provides that a business operator shall not charge deposit money from users in principle, and if it is truly necessary to charge user deposits, it shall provide users, based on agreements, with two options in respect to how their deposits will be placed under custody, either in the business operator's special deposit account or in users' own personal bank settlement accounts, adding that user deposits are attributable to users and cannot be misappropriated by the business operator. Meanwhile, it is made clear in the Draft for Comment that in delivering services, business operators are encouraged to directly charge service fees after the provision of their services. In the event that a business operator offers its services via charging advanced payments from users, it shall place such advanced payments under custody and use them, in compliance with laws and regulations. A business operator shall undertake the primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of user funds lawfully deposited into its special deposit account, and may agree with its users in agreements on the ownership of yields from the user funds.