The People's Bank of China will start paying a 0.35% annual interest on customer funds that third-party payment providers are required to deposit into accounts managed by the central bank, Caixin reported Jan. 7, without citing sources.

The move marks the central bank's reversal of a policy that it initially implemented in 2017. Under the policy, third-party payment providers were required to move funds out of interest-bearing accounts with commercial banks and park such funds into central bank-managed accounts, which did not offer any interest.