Chinese state-run banks may be involved in illicit transfers of cash to Mainland Chinese gamblers in Macau through the country’s popular state-owned UnionPay cards.
A report in the South China Morning Post said UnionPay was investigating the use of handheld card-swipe devices imported illegally into Macau from the mainland to provide cardholders with cash for gambling. China limits its citizens from taking out of the country more than the equivalent of US$3,200 per trip and $50,000 per year. Experts, however, believe last year more than 40 billion yuan was funneled into Macau ($6.4 billion) by using the devices to get cash via transactions that are disguised as merchandise purchases appearing to occur inside China.
Documents seen by the Post illustrate how UnionPay’s networks are used in a process that raises questions about the involvement of Chinese state-run banks in the transfers.
The documents point to a third-party payment processing company called 99Bill.com, which, according to banking industry cited by the newspaper, first clears a transaction and authorizes the release of funds from a Chinese bank account. The company then approves the remittance of the funds to a Macau bank account held by the shop involved in the transaction. These cross-border payments have been deposited into the accounts of at least two state-run Chinese banks with operations in Macau.
The clearing of transactions outside Macau by a Chinese third-party payment company is not legal and neither is the acceptance of funds from China for transactions executed on mobile devices by Macau branches of state-run Chinese banks.
UnionPay and Macau government officials declined to comment to the Post. 99Bill.com was reported as not available for comment.
