The People's Bank of China has issued a new circular with a requirement that the value of a single online purchase should not be more than CNY1000 and that of daily accumulated purchases should not exceed CNY5000, except when the purchase is conducted with an e-signature.

Called "E-payment Guide (No. 1)" the new circular from the People's Bank of China also asks that each of China's banks use prudence to arrange reasonable limits on different kinds of online and offline transactions.

For example, an enterprise client must not pay more than CNY50000 to an individual client each day, unless the bank and the client have pre-signed an agreement proving the validity of the payment.

The People's Bank of China says this guide has been drafted to regulate e-payment activities to promote the healthy development of e-payment and e-commerce in China.

Online shopping service providers such as Taobao and eBay Eachnet say this new policy will not affect them much because most of the purchases on their website are within the set value range.