China Imposes Further Restrictions on Online Consumer Loans for College Students
Over the past few years, some internet finance platforms have targeted college campuses and made inductive marketing through cooperation with technology companies. Such practices led some students into excessive consumption and even debt traps.
On March 17th, the CBIRC, the People’s Bank of China, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Office, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly released the “Notice Concerning Further Standardizing Supervisory and Regulatory Work for College Student Online Consumer Loans”. The Notice forbids micro-loan companies from providing online consumer loans to college students. Besides, other institutions are not allowed to offer credit services to students unless approved by regulatory authorities. (Source: CBIRC)
PBC Digital Currency Research Institute Enters Agreement with Smart Service Provider Zhengyuan Zhihui
Zhejiang Zhengyuan Zhihui Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Zhengyuan Zhihui) has recently signed a cooperative agreement with the People’s Bank of China Digital Currency Research Institute. The two parties will jointly make innovative applications of digital RMB and smart payments in campus and office/industrial/science parks.
At present, the digital RMB has been piloted in cities of Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou, Xiong’an New Area, and the venues of the 2022 Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games.
In terms of application scenarios, the digital renminbi has already supported payment of party fees, smart parking, transportation subsidies, tax payment, e-commerce consumption, charity donations, insurance purchases, etc. (Source: mpaypass)
SaaS Service Provider PatSnap Receives US $300 Million Investment led by Tencent and Softbank
On March 16th, SaaS service provider PatSnap announced that it had secured US$300 million in Series E funding. The investment was led by Tencent Investment and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from CPE Industrial Fund and existing investors Sequoia China, Shun Wei Capital, and Vertex Ventures.
Through technologies of machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, PatSnap provides innovation intelligence services for over 10,000 technology companies, colleges and universities, research institutions, and financial institutions in more than 50 countries. (Source: lieyun.com)
Beijing Financial Court is Officially Established
On March 18th, the Beijing Financial Court was formally established. The court will focus on three major tasks: ensuring financial services for the real economy, preventing financial risks, and deepening financial reform. On the same day, the Supreme People’s Court issued a document on the three categories of cases that Beijing Financial Court’s will be responsible for. (Source: STCN)
The above is a weekly synopsis of the biggest stories on Fintech in China provided by WeiyangX, part of Tsinghua University, in partnership with Crowdfund Insider.
WeiyangX is the most influential website focusing on Fintech in China. The site covers the latest news, industry data analysis, business practices, and in-depth Fintech cases in Fintech. WeiyangX is incubated by Fintech Lab. Founded by Tsinghua University’s People’s Bank of China (PBC) School of Finance in 2012, the Fintech Lab is the first and leading research entity dedicated to leading best practices, promoting interdisciplinary innovation, and encouraging entrepreneurship in the field of fintech through scientific research and innovative project incubation.