China has just launched a national certification centre for the fintech sector in the mid-western megacity of Chongqing.
The National Fintech Certification Centre (国家金融科技认证中心) was officially launched in Chongqing on 10 October, at a ceremony attended by Chinese central bank deputy-governor Fan Yifei (范一飞) and Chongqing mayor and deputy party secretary Tang Liangzhi (唐良智).
The Centre is established with the support of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) – being the Chinese central bank, and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and integrates testing, certification, research and service functions into a single body that will provide “specialist, authoritative fintech testing and certification and standardised comprehensive services.”
The move marks a rare occasion in which a national-level financial organisation is established in a city outside of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen.
In April 2020 the Chongqing municipal government issued guidance opinions for driving the development of the city as a leading fintech centre in China, outlining the establishment of the National Fintech Certification Centre as well as the Chongqing Municipal Financial Big Data Services Centre (重庆市金融大数据服务中心).
According to the Opinions the National Fintech Certification Centre will serve to “train up authoritative professional certification organisations, create fintech product, services and management certification systems; provide fintech certification and fintech standardisation services, and pragmatically increase the compliance and security of fintech innovation standards.”
The Centre will also explore cooperation on international fintech certification with Belt and Road nations, and the gradual expansion of China’s influence in the fintech sector.
