Alipay fined $28,551 by central bank

Alipay, the country's largest mobile payment app and an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, has been fined 180,000 yuan ($28,551) by the central bank.

According to the website of the People's Bank of China Hangzhou Central Sub-branch, irregularities were mainly found in three sections: consumers rights, product promotion and personal information protection.

Alipay responded Sunday, saying after the problems were found the company immediately launched an improvement plan. Related measures have been put into place and accepted by authorities, the company said.

China's third-party mobile payment market has grown rapidly in recent years, offering consumers a more convenient alternative to bank payment channels. Alipay and Tenpay operated by Tencent Financial dominated with 54.26 percent and 38.15 percent of the market respectively.

In May, Alipay and Tenpay were fined by the central bank for improper implementation of user verification. The two payment services were each given a fine of 30,000 yuan by the central bank's branches in Shanghai and Shenzhen.