Fund Management Companies Enjoy Significant Followings on Alipay Open Digital Lifestyle Platform

HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alipay, the world’s leading open digital lifestyle platform, today revealed that 82 fund management companies in China have collectively attracted over 120 million followers on their official corporate accounts on Alipay as of June 9, 2020. Further, 128 of 143 fund management companies in China are now offering products and services on Alipay.

“We saw fund management companies continue to accelerate their digital transformation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and are increasingly using digital technology to offer ‘contactless wealth management’ services for their users,” said Chao Lv, Deputy General Manager of Financial Institution Partnership at Ant Financial Services Group (Ant Group), operator of Alipay. “We will continue to invest in technology to support financial institution partners as they look to engage users in more innovative ways.”

In 2017, Alipay launched Caifuhao, a corporate account service powered by AI on Alipay’s wealth management platform. It gives financial institutions access to a suite of AI capabilities and digital solutions, including better user connectivity, operational optimization, and smart marketing. By launching a Caifuhao account on Alipay, fund managers can provide users with tailored investor education as well as wealth management products.

In May 2020, Alipay incorporated a livestreaming feature on Caifuhao to enable fund managers to better engage their mobile-savvy followers.

By leveraging these digital solutions, fund management companies have successfully increased their operating efficiency, reduced costs, and yielded a good rate of reinvestment, with Alipay Caifuhao followers completing an average of six reinvestments every month.

In March 2020, Alipay announced a three-year plan to support the digital transformation of 40 million service providers across China and evolve from a platform that provides inclusive financial services to an open, vibrant digital ecosystem that offers users a gateway into a comprehensive digital lifestyle. Since then, a growing number of service providers, including financial institutions, are migrating or updating their services on the Alipay platform to better serve and optimize the user experience.

About Alipay

Alipay is the world's leading open digital lifestyle platform operated by Ant Group. In 2004, Alipay launched as an escrow service to address the issue of trust between online buyers and sellers in the early days of e-commerce in China. Continuously innovating to bring mobile payment to the world, Alipay serves more than 1.2 billion users worldwide together with its global e-wallet partners as of June 30, 2019.

Alipay has evolved from a payment tool to become a one-stop digital lifestyle platform. Through an open platform strategy, it introduces service providers from sectors such as local living, public services, and financial services, to bring consumers a more comprehensive experience. Along the way, it helps merchants digitalize their operations, promoting digital transformation in the service industry.

Alipay actively shares its financial technology experience with overseas partners, in order to bring inclusive financial services to the world. Working with more than 250 overseas financial institutions, Alipay created online payment channels for buyers and sellers in more than 200 countries and regions. When Chinese people travel abroad, they can pay directly using their mobile phones, and receive dedicated local merchant services through Alipay. These services have been introduced in 56 countries and regions. Tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 35 countries and regions, and Alipay supports 27 different currencies. In addition, foreign tourists and foreigners living in China can also use Alipay for mobile payments in the country.