Chinese regulators have mandated that P2P lenders work with custody banks for depository services; Ping An Bank has announced a third party depository service and provides details in a document titled, "Measures for Third Party Depository of P2P Online Lending Platforms"; the document provides access criteria for lenders and the bank appears to be setting the industry standard for P2P custody services. Source
Yirendai launched a new open technology platform at LendIt USA called Yirendai Enabling Platform; the platform will provide solutions for data acquisition, anti-fraud technology and customer acquisition; it is primarily targeted for Chinese marketplace lenders; its capabilities are expected to help marketplace lending companies improve customer experience, increase efficiency, lower costs and mitigate fraud. Source
Singapore-based Dymon Asia Ventures has received investment of $20 million and plans to meet its target fundraising of $50 million over the next 12 months; firm plans to invest in 12 to 15 companies and has already begun investing in five companies which include: blockchain startup Otonomos, financing firm Capital Match, forex-focused 4XLabs, trading platform Spark Systems and marketing service WeConvene; the firm's investment focus will be on business to business companies targeting the growing Southeast Asia internet market; it says it will invest in seed stage funding through Series B funding with investments ranging from $300,000 to $3 million and reserves available for continued investment in follow-on rounds. Source
Viva Republica is the operator of Toss; firm has announced a $48 million funding round for the payment app from PayPal, Goodwater Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Altos Ventures and Partech Ventures; Toss has reported significant market share in Korea with over six million app downloads and payment transactions of over $3 billion; Viva Republica has also partnered with 18 of Korea's 19 major banks and now provides payment services to 98% of Korea's banking customers; for PayPal the investment builds out its payment services portfolio which includes mobile payment processor Venmo. Source
Zane Wang concluded the LendIt USA keynote speeches with a presentation on China Rapid Finance's business growth in China; the firm's online lending business has grown steadily as a leading provider of online loans for consumers; Wang discussed China's credit market infrastructure and credit bureau development; Wang also noted the market opportunity from emerging middle-class mobile active consumers (EMMAs) which are a primary target market for China Rapid Finance; also of high importance in China is the use of big data; Wang reported that China Rapid Finance has been able to achieve its success by using predictive selection technology solutions derived from machine learning and big data algorithms. Source
Automotive parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group has been actively investing in China and is the country's largest blockchain investor; Wanxiang Group recently committed $30 million to a smart cities initiative and is now planning a blockchain accelerator 'Chainbase Accelerator' with four startups involved in the program; Chainbase Accelerator will focus on blockchain initiatives for next-generation energy delivery, digital currency and smart governance; Wanxiang has also reported that it will begin to reveal plans for its smart city which will result in an innovative global platform for businesses. Source
Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial has reported an investment in payment provider Mynt which has its business focus in the Philippines; Mynt currently has three million registered customers and reports one billion pesos ($19.9 million) worth of transactions per week; it provides services for consumers, merchants, and organizations primarily through its GCash and Fuse Lending businesses; GCash serves as its micropayment service provider and Fuse Lending offers online personal and business loans. Source
Sources report that Chinese online property and casualty insurance company Zhong An is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) in China; the firm was founded by Alibaba's Jack Ma, Tencent's Pony Ma and Ma Mingzhe from Ping An Insurance Group of China; a primary product for the firm is e-commerce shipping insurance which accounts for approximately 50% of the business; currently the firm's major shareholders include Ant Financial with 16% and Tencent Holdings Ltd. with 12%; in 2015 it reported a valuation of $8 billion and it currently plans to raise an additional 2 billion yuan ($290 million) to help it prepare for the IPO. Source
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has refuted the fraudulent release or misuse of India's Aadhaar biometrics data after media reports claimed the release of Aadhaar data involving a private bank, its business correspondence agency and an e-sign agency; the UIDAI reports that an attempt was made to access data but internal security systems prevented the data's release; the incident exemplifies the strict security surrounding the use of Aadhaar data in India. Source
Silicon Valley Bank has a joint venture partnership with Shanghai Development Bank Co. Ltd; the partnership led the bank to open its first Chinese branch in Shanghai in 2012 and the firm has now announced their second location in Beijing; the banking branch in Beijing has 14 employees and will offer services for companies in technology, private equity and venture capital which are a key focus for Silicon Valley Bank globally. Source