Chinese banks boost fintech spending and launch services to counter competition from internet giants
- China Construction Bank and China Merchant Bank use fintech to deliver cross-border services in the Greater Bay Area
- Chinese banks that have set up fintech units are also forming partnerships with internet giants to tap their technology
Chinese commercial banks are boosting their fintech investments and capability to counter competition from internet giants as they chip away at their businesses.
Some banks, although late to the party, are wholeheartedly embracing the fintech revolution which has transformed customers’ financial consumption behaviour.
Last year China Construction Bank (CCB) set up its own wholly-owned fintech unit, joining Ping An Bank, China Merchants Bank, China Everbright Bank, Industrial Bank, and China Minsheng Bank.
CCB is the only Big Four state-owned bank to have set up a dedicated fintech unit. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China have not launched fintech divisions despite tech firms competing with bricks-and-mortar banks on product offerings, distribution channels and even cannibalising their customers.
And now they are increasingly showcasing their newly developed fintech capabilities, launching retail and corporate banking services in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), which encompasses Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong province, as they seek to deliver cross-border services via digital banking.
