Faced with opposition to its latest proposal to cap payments, the Chinese central bank took the highly unusual step of issuing a follow-up statement on the weekend that responded to the criticism.

The PBOC quoted figures showing that last year, 71 per cent of online payment platform users made payments totalling less than ¥1000, to support its claim that most users will be unaffected by the new cap.

The central bank also emphasised that its new rules were aimed at improving the security of internet payments.

'A holistic consideration of payment efficiency'

"Transfer limits are proposed based on a holistic consideration of payment efficiency and convenience, as well as factors such as anti-money laundering and client fund security," the bank said.

But although some believe that the PBOC's latest move is an attempt to introduce some order into the unregulated and chaotic world of internet finance, others see it as an effort to protect China's big state-owned banks.

They say Alibaba and Tencent are not only engaged in a fierce competition with each other, they're also facing resistance from the big Chinese banks, which for the most part have failed to come up with the innovative, easy-to-use interfaces offered by China's two internet champions.

Even worse for the Chinese banks, these internet players are threatening to move further into their core activities.

Alibaba has already launched an online money market fund, Yu'E Bao, which offers attractive returns to Chinese savers. And after receiving a banking licence in June, Alibaba's finance affiliate launched a new online lender, MYBank, which will make loans of up to ¥5 million to private individuals and small firms. This follows Tencent's creation of WeBank, which began offering a commercial banking service in April. Both new operations are looking to take a slice of the estimated ¥23 trillion household loans market that is growing fast as more Chinese borrowers look for credit.

This move shouldn't worry Chinese bankers in the short term – Chinese banks filled the four top spots for profits across the global industry last year, earning almost double the amount of their US rivals. But they are worried that they could be missing out on a shift that is about to transform their business.

Fortunately for them as they battle to stave off growing competition from the country's internet giants, they have the ear of China's banking regulator, which is concerned about the growing risks in China's financial system.