Financial institutions: earning on data - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

Online financial institutions like Alibaba's Ant Financial and Tencent are developing new business models, where they make money on the giant amount of data they collect. Financial authorities are stepping in, for the right reasons, says business analyst Shaun Rein to the China Daily.

The China Daily:

Ant Financial and Tencent, which according to iResearch make up the lion's share of China's 22.7 trillion ($3.4 trillion) mobile payment market, have just completed a weeklong battle in which they dished out generous incentives to lure users to their payment systems. 

Ant said in a statement that it will comply with the requirements of the central bank. Tencent said it will cooperate with regulators and other relevant parties to build a justified, fair and source-sharing platform for a nonbank payment network. 

"Online payments generate a significant amount of data that payment firms can use to their benefit," said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group. 

"The government should really step up to limit their power and ensure financial security."

More in the China Daily.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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