China Rapid Finance targets 3 million new users by year’s end
China Rapid Finance has set an ambitious target of rapidly growing its user base, targeting those whose credit demands are not met by traditional banks
China Rapid Finance (CRF), the Chinese financial technology business that recently listed in New York, expects to add up to 3 million users on its lending platform this year despite the government’s push to tighten restrictions on the burgeoning online lending sector.
One of the mainland’s largest online consumer lending platform in terms of number of loans transacted, CRF raised US$69 million on the New York Stock Exchange in late April, putting it on a fast track to tap the mainland’s underdeveloped consumer finance businesses.
An additional 3 million consumers will likely secure credit on its platform in 2017, more than triple the number at the end of last year, according to Kerry Shen Junqing, chief financial officer of CRF.
In the first quarter of this year, the company attracted 545,000 new borrowers who obtained credit ranging from 500 yuan to 6,000 yuan (US$73.50 to US$882.50) per transaction.
The proceeds from the New York listing will be utilised to help CRF acquire more mainland customers whose credit demands have yet to be met by the country’s banking system.
In recent times, Chinese authorities have stepped-up monitoring of online lending platforms. These include new rules that require the appointment of custodian banks to oversee clients’ deposits and full disclosure of information about their operations.