Payment company steps up efforts in technology R

Huifu Payment Ltd, the mainland's leading independent payment firm, is sharpening its focus on technological research and development as regulators have tightened scrutiny on the sector by establishing unified payment channels and imposing penalties on financial misdeeds.

"In the future, payment firms should refocus on their core businesses and leverage novel technologies to unlock new payment scenarios," said Mu Haijie, president of Huifu.

Shanghai-based Huifu was among the first group of online payment companies - including Ant Financial Services Group, which owns Alipay, and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings Ltd - to receive a third-party digital payment certificate from China's central bank in 2011.