On November 19th, the reporter learned from the Ministry of Civil Affairs that the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the State Administration for Financial Regulation have recently issued the "Guidelines for Pre payment and Custody of Elderly Care Institutions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), further strengthening and regulating the supervision of pre payment in elderly care institutions, improving custody rules, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly. The Guidelines point out that elderly care institutions should independently choose a bank within the scope of the list of commercial banks in the local area that undertake pre fee custody business published by the civil affairs department to open a unique pre fee special deposit account, and sign a custody agreement in accordance with relevant regulations. If a retirement institution revokes its dedicated deposit account, it shall report in advance to the civil affairs department responsible for supervision on the disposal plan of the deposited funds. From the date of reporting, it shall not collect deposits or membership fees from the elderly. It is worth noting that elderly care institutions generally collect deposits and membership fees through custodian banks. For payments received through other payment institutions or cash, they shall be transferred or deposited into a dedicated deposit account on the day of receipt (no later than the next day). Elderly care institutions using custodial funds shall submit an expenditure application to the custodial bank, stating the purpose of the funds and providing relevant supporting materials. If the deposited funds are used to pay for the medical expenses of the elderly in case of emergencies, the custodian bank may handle it in a timely manner, and the elderly care institution shall provide relevant supporting materials within 7 working days after the elderly receive medical treatment. The Guidelines also point out that for those who meet the requirements of the elderly care service agreement and should be refunded according to regulations, the elderly care institution should promptly submit a refund application to the custodian bank. After verifying the relevant information, the custodian bank should refund the remaining fees in a lump sum through the original channel on the day of submission of the refund application (no later than the next day). In addition, if there are abnormal fund flows such as large transactions, suspicious transactions, high-risk transactions, and non designated transactions in the special deposit accounts of elderly care institutions, the custodian bank shall not handle expenditures for them except for refunds, and shall also issue risk warnings to the civil affairs department responsible for supervision. Among them, in cases involving large transactions, suspicious transactions, money laundering, etc., the local branch of the People's Bank of China shall be reported simultaneously; If it involves illegal fundraising, it shall be reported to the local leading department for handling illegal fundraising and the branch or dispatched institution of the financial management department of the State Council where it is located. Regarding the rights and obligations of relevant parties, the Guidelines stipulate that elderly care institutions shall provide legal, truthful, and accurate certificates, licenses, and information to the custodian bank. If there are any changes to the relevant certificates, licenses, and information, the custodian bank shall be notified in writing in a timely manner. The risks, losses, and responsibilities arising from the inaccurate, illegal, and untimely provision of information by elderly care institutions shall be borne by the institutions. Elderly care institutions are not allowed to use custodian banks for marketing and promotion. Depository banks shall fulfill their management responsibilities for the custody of funds and shall not charge additional service fees to elderly care institutions. The custodian bank shall develop a pension institution account management system for collecting information on the collection and use of funds in pension institutions, and integrate data with the information system of the civil affairs department. It shall promptly push information and related analysis reports on the collection, use, and refund of funds in the special deposit account of pension institutions to the civil affairs department responsible for supervision, and shall not conceal, deceive, tamper with, delay, etc. The custodian bank shall close the online banking transactions of the special deposit account for elderly care institutions, and all transactions shall be conducted through the counter or the dedicated custodian platform developed by the custodian bank. Every time an elderly care institution initiates an expenditure application, the custodian bank should conduct a trial calculation of the remaining balance after the expenditure. If it is found through trial calculation that the balance after expenditure will be lower than the corresponding amount of the minimum proportion of risk guarantee deposit, the elderly care institution should be prompted to make up for the risk guarantee deposit. (New Society)