China to Pump Up Security of ‘Scan-and-Pay’

Bill paying via smartphones is booming in China, with consumers paying for everything from a hospital stay to a single egg. But the central bank sees risks in the lack of uniform business and technical standards for the barcode technology. On Wednesday, it stepped in. "Due to the lack of uniform business and technical standards, there are still potential risks in the bar code generation mechanism and transmission process, as well as risks in payment security," the central bank said.