ZhongAn Online one of the leading insurtech companies in China, announced today its first six months interim results as of 30 June 2019. By harnessing the latest technologies, ZhongAn Online continues to integrate technology into every process in the insurance sector so as to reshape the entire insurance value chain. In the first half of 2019, the company invested RMB459.0 million (US$ 64 million) into research and development for insurtech . This has yielded 405 patent applications. The automation rate of claim underwriting and settlement exceeded 99% and 95% respectively. Moreover, the proportion of artificial intelligence (AI) applied in online…

2019 has been undeniably the year of Chinese commercial banks/tech companies collaborations. Incumbents have been actively pursuing partnerships with tech firms to drive fintech adoption as part of their digital strategies. Meanwhile, Chinese Internet giants have begun shifting their focus from being financial services providers to being tech providers. According to an analysis by Chinabankingnews.com, at least ten commercial banks in China have inked partnership deals with tech or fintech companies since the beginning of the year. Collaborations in July 2019 The latest to have done so is Industrial Bank, which unveiled on August 6, a strategic cooperative agreement with…

China’s State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China have released a detailed plan for wide-ranging reforms to be implemented in Shenzhen. The new guideline, released last week, outlines Beijing’s plan to turn Shenzhen into “one of the leading cities in the world in terms of economic strength and quality of development” by 2025, with a key focus put on research and development, industrial innovation, quality public services, and environmental protection, reports Chinese news agency Xinhua. By 2035, Shenzhen should become “a national model of high-quality development, as well as a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship and…

In China, online lenders are filling the credit gap, leveraging cutting edge technology including artificial intelligence (AI) to make lending decision in just a second. E-commerce giant Alibaba’s MyBank and Internet conglomerate Tencent’s WeBank, have dramatically changed the domestic financial services landscape and have lent to more than 100 million people so far, including those in rural areas and microbusiness owners, reports Nikkei Asian Review. Both companies make their lending decisions using AI, processing vast amounts of user data and information gathered from the mobile payment services they operate. Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of Alibaba, and Tencent, which operates…

As Asia goes through our own virtual banking revolution, looking to our western counterparts may provide hints as to where this journey could eventually take us. Though the first virtual bank (or internet-only bank as it was known then) was rolled out by Japan Net Bank in the early 2000’s, many would point to HKMA’s issuance of 8 virtual banking licenses as the tipping point that reinvigorated Asia’s interest in it. Soon after HKMA’s announcement, Singapore unveiled its virtual banking framework, Taiwan issued 3 virtual banking licenses, and Malaysia commits to releasing its version of a virtual banking framework by…

LINE Pay Corporation, operator of the LINE Pay mobile money transfer and payment service available on the LINE messaging app, announced recently that its merchants have been integrating WeChat Pay since early August. Once system integration is complete, WeChat Pay users simply scan a Japanese LINE Pay merchant’s QR code to pay with their WeChat Pay balance. Since WeChat Pay is heavily used in China, the service will be particularly convenient for Chinese tourists visiting Japan. Merchants with LinePay will be able to accept WeChat Pay and NAVER Pay as additional payment options without additional registration and charges as part…

China Construction Bank (CCB), one of the leading banks in China, announced that it has significantly lifted its approval rate and increased the automation rate in its credit card business using the FICO® Score X Data and FICO® Scorecard solutions to facilitate the origination process and grow its business with the youth market. The bank has been on a digital transformation journey to broaden its online and mobile banking offering to reach millennial consumers, 18 to 35 years of age. This group represents a significant opportunity for CCB with a growing demand for credit, however many of these consumers also…

As Hong Kong’s protest intensifies, market observers are noticing a surge in demand for bitcoin in Hong Kong. Bloomberg reported that Bitcoin was trading at about 4% premium in Hong Kong. Whereas a CCN report is showing that sellers on peer-peer exchange platform LocalBitcoins are demanding a premium of between HK$ 1170 and HK$39,000 (US$150 and $US5,000). Quartz reporter Mary Hui, shared that protesters are reluctant to use their Octopus cards for fear being tracked by the government and they are instead using single journey tickets. There is usually never a line at the train ticketing machines. Judging from an…

QFPay, a China based digital payment technology company has received a new round of USD20 million funding. This funding round is joined by the likes Rakuten Capital, VentureSouq, MDI Ventures and existing investors like Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners. The payments company is established in 2012 and describes itself as  “the largest global partner of WeChat Pay and AliPay”. According to their media statement QFPay is currently operating in markets like Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore Thailand, UAE, Hong Kong and of course China. With this new round of capital injection, QFPay seeks to to…

Deutsche Bank announced that digital signatures are now being rolled out for clients in Asia Pacific. As cross-border document and contract signing can be a time consuming process, this solution helps to streamline and expedite the client experience. The bank facilitated its first digitally signed document in Asia Pacific for BASF’s Regional Treasury Centre (RTC) in Hong Kong, a long-term client of the bank. Clients can use digital solutions to accelerate the opening of accounts, sign documents and agree contracts with the bank. This solution is available to Deutsche Bank’s clients across 21 countries worldwide. Featured image credit: Deutsche Bank

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is close to issuing its own cryptocurrency, Shanghai Security News reports. This is in line with earlier public statements made by China stating that they are eyeing to release their cryptocurrency soon Better known as central bank digital currencies (CDBC) to those in industry, China’s version of cryptocurrency has been in the works for the past 5 years, and the regulator have sped up its efforts to launch it in response to Facebook’s Libra. Mu Chang Chun, Deputy Chief in the Payment and Settlement Division, PBoC, told media that China’s cryptocurrency will not rely…

Self-driving cars have been touted that as the future of transportation by many, including the likes of Elon Musk who claimed that Tesla will roll out “truly self-driving cars” by 2020, which in case you have noticed, is only a year from now. Whether you think these driverless cars will arrive next year or 5 years from now, there are some important considerations that might have been overlook by most. That’s simply because it’s not the sexiest thing to talk about, that’s right — we’re talking about insuring self driving cars. Liabilities Will Likely Shift Away from Drivers As autonomous…

Shenzhen has demonstrated its willingness to experiment with innovative technology when it issued its first digital invoice on the blockchain last year. Part of the Greater Bay Area, Shenzen has issued close to 6 million invoice according to a report by XinhuaNet. According to local authorities on average 44,000 of these invoices are issued daily with a total value of roughly US$ 500 million. These transactions are happening across 113 sectors. The local news outlet also stated that so far 5,300 companies in Shenzhen have registered to use blockchain invoice. Shenzhen is far from the only city pushing for blockchain…

The insurance industry is on the brink of a major transformation, driven by factors such as macroeconomic development, changing consumer expectations, technological innovation and increased competition, according to a recent insurtech report by jointly published by ZhongAn and KPMG. In recent years, China’s insurance market has grown rapidly. In 2017, total primary premiums in China hit RMB 3.1 trillion, making China the second largest insurance market in the world. Online insurance has achieved even faster growth than the industry in general. Over the last 5 years, total online insurance premiums in China have increased by nearly twentyfold, from RMB 11.07…

In July, Tencent’s super-app WeChat ran a trial that enabled passengers of two Spring Airlines flights between Shanghai and Chengdu to make offline payments while flying, reports Abacus. Passengers could sign up for the trial service, called WeChat on the Machine, before boarding and successful applicants were given the ability to use the WeChat mobile app to purchase food and beverages, souvenirs, blankets and in-flight services while on the plane. Bills were stored on the app until the airplane landed, and when devices were connected back to the Internet, payments were automatically made. The new payment feature is currently restricted…

Standard Chartered Bank announced the launch of the eXellerator innovation lab in China, that brings together employees, corporate clients and fintechs to develop innovative solutions that meet the evolving banking needs of clients. Located in Shanghai, the eXellerator in China builds on the Bank’s global network of innovation labs across Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Kenya and San Francisco. These labs are part of the Bank’s SC Ventures unit, designed to drive innovation, invest in promising fintechs and implement new business models to rewire the DNA in banking. With the launch of the eXellerator, Standard Chartered aims to deepen its contribution…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) unveiled today in a media statement, the progress of its Open API framework and its future plans. The HKMA introduced the Framework in July 2018, which aims to facilitate the development and wider adoption of APIs by the banking sector. Progress So Far – Phase 1 & 2 The Framework adopts a four-phase implementation approach. It is reported that Phase 1 was completed on schedule with 20 participating retail banks making available more than 500 Open APIs, offering access to information of a wide range of banking products and services. Websites and mobile apps are…

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), the government’s top financial regulator, will resume a new round of procedures for granting preliminary approval for digital banks, the FSC said on July 17. Earlier this year, the FSC said it intended to approve one or two additional digital banks under the Special Act on Online-only Banks, which allows non-financial companies to own a 34% stake in an online-only bank. Two companies applied, namely Kiwoom and Toss, but neither of them was granted a preliminary approval in last May as both fell short of the evaluation committee’s standards. The regulator now said it…

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission is said to have issued it virtual banking licences to three consortiums, according to a report by Reuters. The licenses were granted to Line Financial Taiwan, Next Commercial Banking (led by local telco Chunghwa Telecom) and Rakuten International Commercial Bank. Virtual banking frameworks and licenses seems to be a major focus for many of the regulators in Asia this year, with regions like Hong Kong issuing 8 licenses, Singapore eyeing to issue 5 and Malaysia looking to finalise its version of the virtual banking framework this year.

New data from Juniper Research has found that the volume of domestic money transfers via mobiles will exceed 203 billion in 2024, up from 130 billion in 2019. Domestic P2P payments will drive this growth; accounting for 80% of all domestic transfers in 2024. According to the new research, “Digital Money Transfer & Remittances: Domestic & International Markets 2019-2024”, domestic transfers are being driven by increasingly easy mobile payment systems. In developed markets, digital wallets have made P2P payments far simpler, with services including PayPal, Venmo and Cash App enabling low cost, fast and secure payments for a rapidly growing number…