Ant Financial targets loan products with exorbitant interest rates

Ant Financial, the fintech arm of Alibaba, has asked loan providers on Alipay to stop offering any loan products with a comprehensive annual interest rate of more than 24%, Yicai.com reported.

On Alipay, financial institutions such as wealth management companies, can promote their products and services directly to users.

Though the company didn’t point out which partners on the Alipay platform failed to meet the standard, all of them are required to rectify the issue by the end of November, the report said.

The company also announced it will stop cooperating with some cash loan providers.

On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission held a meeting to call for the regulation and rectification of online micro loans. The meeting is considered to be the prelude to a crackdown on cash loans.

(ASIA TIMES)