Chinese consumers are increasingly using mobile payment technology; currently 57.7% of the country's internet users are using mobile payment services; the shift to mobile payments is being supported by the growth from fintech companies which has also helped to make China the world's leading fintech hub; four of the world's largest fintech unicorns, Ant Financial, Lufax, JD Finance and Qufenqi, all have their headquarters in China; Bitcoin is also popular in China, accounting for 42% of the digital currency's transactions; statistics also show mobile payment services advancing ahead of traditional bank offerings with Alipay reporting more than 50% market share in mobile payments; while the country has seen exponential growth from fintech services, Chinese regulators are evolving fintech regulations which could require greater compliance requirements from fintech companies. Source
Shareholders and regulators have approved Sichuan XW Bank as the new name for one of China's newest online banks; Sichuan XW Bank is supported with capital by Xiaomi, an electronics and home appliances manufacturer; its leading competitors in the online banking market in China will be WeBank and MYBank. Source
Core Innovation Capital has raised approximately $71.5 million for a second venture capital fund; the fundraising round included 17 investors; the company invests in fintech companies focused on mobile and efficient financial products; it has invested in Mirador, Nova, Banking Up, Trim, NerdWallet, CoverWallet, Oportun and Ripple. Source
In the fintech industry there are many companies that have emerged with food-based company names; as the holiday season ends and the new year begins, LendIt has highlighted these companies in a blog post; the list of companies spans the full range of fintech industry categories. Source
As of September 2016, WeChat had 768 million active users; the service is owned by Tencent; social cash sent to users through customized red packets or red envelopes has been one factor driving increased usage; WeChat has also been helping fuel a cashless society with 300 million users using WeChat Pay; expanding features and red packet promotional efforts have helped the company report an estimated value of $80 billion which is approximately half of Tencent's market cap. Source
Decreased venture capital funding and fintech challenges in 2016 slowed the market for initial public offerings (IPOs); experts believe the IPO market could be revived in 2017 with four companies at the top of the list to watch for a potential public offering; companies include Transferwise, SoFi, Ant Financial and Credit Karma; all four companies have significant venture capital support and are likely leaders for the fintech IPO market in 2017. Source
Cost reduction benefits have been identified for blockchain however revenue benefits are also a factor for banks; banks are increasingly using blockchain solutions to reduce expenses and now banks are also researching ways to utilize blockchain for revenue growth; as blockchain becomes more widely used in the industry it is likely that banks will develop revenue generating products that use the technology; while banks have not greatly been reporting on new blockchain products, potential product development exists with digitizing illiquid assets and building micropayment systems. Source
Japanese insurer Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. has announced plans to replace 30% of its payment assessment department with an artificial intelligence system; the insurance company has partnered with IBM for use of IBM's Watson; the system will analyze and interpret medical documents for insurance payments; the company estimates it will save approximately 140 million yen ($1.19 million) per year by utilizing the new system; other insurance companies also exploring artificial intelligence for similar types of work include Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Japan Post Insurance Co. and Nippon Life Insurance Co. Source
The Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley has created a program to connect 30 of the largest insurance companies with insurtech startups; these insurance companies are seeking insurtech innovation for improving user experience, risk assessment and underwriting, prevention of loss and cost reduction; additionally, large insurance companies are reporting that they seek access to a range of innovative solutions across all industries. Source
Bitcoin reported substantial gains in 2016, increasing 120% and 57% in the last three months of the year; on January 1 the cryptocurrency exchange rate versus the dollar increased to over $1,000; equity strategist, Christopher Wood of CLSA notes that trading in China has concurrently been high with trading on the China BTC Bitcoin Exchange increasing from Rmb 1 billion ($140 million) in September to Rmb 27.8 billion ($4 billion) in December; in an article from Asia Times, the source also reported that China accounted for 42% of Bitcoin's trading in the first six months of 2016; one factor significantly affecting the increased trading volume has been the weakening of China's currency causing increased interest in foreign investments. Source