Alipay, once called "Alibaba's eighth division" by Jack Ma, has become the world's largest fintech company, with more than 1 billion users and more than 800,000 cooperative merchants. The development of Alipay has not only changed the payment Xi habits of Chinese, but also affected the global financial landscape. However, on December 30, 2023, the official website of the central bank released a blockbuster news, agreeing to change Alipay (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd. to no actual controller. What does this mean and what does the future hold for Alipay?
Why did Alipay change to no actual controller?
Alipay's change is part of Ant Group's rectification. Ant Group is the parent company of Alipay and the world's largest fintech group, with a number of national apps such as Alipay, Yue Bao, Huabei, Borrow, and Sesame Credit. In 2020, Ant Group plans to list in Shanghai and Hong Kong at the same time, valuing it at $225 billion, setting a record for the world's largest IPO.
However, on the eve of the listing, Ant Group was jointly interviewed by multiple departments, and the listing plan was suspended and required to make rectifications. The main contents of the rectification include: correcting unfair competition in the payment business, breaking the information monopoly, applying for the establishment of a financial holding company, strictly implementing the requirements of prudential supervision, and controlling the liquidity risk of fund products. The purpose of rectification is to regulate the development of financial technology, prevent financial risks, protect the rights and interests of consumers, and maintain financial stability.
The change of Alipay is an important measure of Ant Group's rectification. According to Ant Group's announcement, the core of this change is the change in the voting rights of Ant Group's major shareholders, from Jack Ma and his concerted actors jointly exercising share voting rights, to 10 natural persons, including Ant Group's management, employee representatives and founder Jack Ma, independently exercising share voting rights.
This means that Jack Ma is no longer the de facto controller of Ant Group, and Ant Group is no longer controlled by any single or co-shareholder, but is jointly involved in decision-making by multiple independent shareholders. Such changes are conducive to improving the transparency and effectiveness of Ant Group's governance, strengthening its isolation from its shareholder Alibaba Group, and facilitating communication and coordination between Ant Group and regulatory authorities, so as to promote its sustainable and steady development.
What is the impact of Alipay's change to no actual controller?
The change of Alipay may not have much feeling for users. Alipay's business and services will still operate in the original way, and users can still use Alipay for payment, transfer, financial management, lending, credit and other functions. The change of Alipay does not mean that Alipay's business will be restricted or weakened, but it means that Alipay's business will be more standardized and safe, more in line with regulatory requirements, and more protect the rights and interests of users.
The change of Alipay will not affect the security of users' funds on Alipay, because Alipay's funds are held in escrow by a third-party bank and have nothing to do with Ant Group's shareholding structure. The change of Alipay will not affect the user's data privacy on Alipay, because Alipay will strictly abide by relevant laws and regulations, protect the user's data security, and will not disclose or abuse the user's data at will.
Alipay's changes may have some positive effects on users. The change of Alipay is conducive to improving Alipay's service quality and innovation capabilities, allowing users to enjoy better financial technology products and services. The change of Alipay is conducive to enhancing Alipay's sense of social responsibility and credibility, so that users can trust and support Alipay more. The change of Alipay is conducive to promoting the cooperation and competition between Alipay and other financial institutions and platforms, so that users have more choices and convenience. The change of Alipay is conducive to promoting the communication and coordination between Alipay and the regulatory authorities, so that users can feel more at ease and at ease.
Alipay's change to no actual controller, what is the impact on the industry?
Alipay's changes may have some far-reaching impact on the industry. The change of Alipay is a microcosm of the rectification of the fintech industry and a turning point in the development of the fintech industry. Alipay's change reflects the development trend of the fintech industry, that is, from the rapid expansion and scale advantages of the past to a more standardized and stable direction.
Alipay's changes also reflect the regulatory requirements of the fintech industry, which require fintech companies to comply with financial laws and regulations, fulfill financial licensing and prudential supervision obligations, prevent financial risks, protect consumer rights and interests, and maintain financial stability. Alipay's changes also reflect the competitive landscape of the fintech industry, which requires fintech companies to avoid monopoly and unfair competition, promote fair and orderly markets, encourage innovation and cooperation, and improve service quality and efficiency.
The change of Alipay may bring some new opportunities and challenges to the industry. The change of Alipay is conducive to promoting the standardization and healthy development of the financial technology industry, and provides a good development environment and reference standard for the industry. The change of Alipay is conducive to stimulating the innovation and vitality of the financial technology industry, and has brought new impetus and space for the development of the industry. The change of Alipay is conducive to promoting cooperation and competition in the fintech industry, bringing new market opportunities and challenges to the industry.
epilogue
Alipay's change to no actual controller is part of the transformation and upgrading of the fintech industry, and it is also a positive manifestation of the company's social responsibility. This change is expected to promote the more standardized and healthy development of the industry, and improve the quality and credibility of services. For users, the security and convenience of Alipay will be more comprehensively guaranteed. For the industry as a whole, this marks the development of fintech in the direction of more transparency, fairness, and innovation. May fintech continue to make progress in the process of change and create more value for users and society as a whole.