NetEase to shutter personal finance app Youqian in further retreat from finance-related services
- NetEase is ending service for its personal financial management app Youqian in April in a continued retreat from finance-related services
- Fintech competitor Ant Group has recently faced increased regulatory scrutiny amid concerns over microlending services
NetEase, one of China’s first-generation tech giants, said it will close its personal finance app Youqian after several years of struggling to find a hit in the personal finance services space. The move marks a further retreat from finance-related services that are now facing increased government scrutiny in China.
Youqian, which stopped accepting new premium subscriptions last Wednesday, is primarily a personal financial management tool. It allowed users to connect the app to their bank accounts and monitor their spending. It will continue to operate for existing users until April 1.
Youqian was one of several finance-related products that NetEase launched between 2015 and 2017, most of which failed to gain traction. NetEase credit and loan services including NetEase Baitiao, NetEase Microloan and NetEase Laiqian failed to help the company take on larger rivals like Tencent Holdings and Ant Group.
Chinese regulators are now looking to rein in the fintech sector, recently targeting Ant Group, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding. On November 3, regulators scuttled Ant’s IPO, which was expected to raise nearly US$35 billion, after last-minute talks with the company‘s senior management led to a “significant change” in Ant’s business environment.
Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.