In the News: Cross-Border Financial Data Transfer; Service Sector Reform; and Anti-Money Laundering in Legal

Cross-Border Data Transfer Rules Eased for Some Financial Data

The Chinese government has introduced measures aimed at streamlining the cross-border transfer of financial data.
 
Under the Guidelines for Promoting and Regulating Compliance in Cross-Border Flows of Data of the Financial Sector (the “Guidelines”) (促进和规范金融业数据跨境流动合规指南) jointly issued by the People’s Bank of China and five other departments, some financial data is exempt from the reporting requirements if exported overseas, whereas for some other types of financial data, the government will consider ways to improve the efficiency of existing reporting and approval requirements, Shanghai Securities News reports.
 
Forty-seven types of financial data fall under the first category. These include “establishing standard contracts for outbound personal information, or passing personal information protection certification, targeting cross-border payments, cross-border remittances, cross-border account opening, cross-border shopping and other activities.” 

Sixty-one types of financial data fall under the second category. The Guidelines specify that these data types, although not exempt from the obligation to complete a security assessment, can be exported abroad when necessary.
 
These Guidelines were introduced in response to growing interest by foreign financial institutions in expanding in China, as well as Chinese financial entities expanding overseas. Both necessitate cross-border transfer of financial data.