China will strengthen regulation of third-party payment platforms as serious problems, such as lack of protection of customer privacy and misuse of customer funds, have been reported, said Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, on Friday.

China's third-party payment industry has grown rapidly in recent years, with total transaction reaching 120 trillion yuan ($17.4 trillion) in 2016, up from 18 trillion yuan in 2013, Fan added.