Ant Group’s Huabei Delivers Big Data to Chinese Central Bank’s Credit System

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One of China’s leading consumer finance platforms originally developed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group has been integrated into the credit system of the People Bank of China (PBOC), as part of efforts to expedite the sharing of big data resources.

Huabei said to Securities Daily that following a recent upgrade it was gradually integrating relevant information into PBOC’s credit system with the prior consent of users.

The statement came after Huabei users said that they are now required to execute a “Personal Credit Inquiry Submission Authorisation Form” (个人征信查询报送授权书), consenting to the provision of their information to credit databases in order to make use of the platform.

“The comprehensive incorporation of Huabei into the central bank credit system will serve to further standardise its operations,” said Su Xiaorui (苏筱芮), senior analyst with Yiguan.

“For the sector, the huge volume of user data that Huabei provides in future will create value for the entire credit system, and enable commercial banks and other credit-issuing financial institutions to have more diverse vectors when assessing the qualifications of customers.

“Overall, this will produce benefits for the improvement of the financial data system.”

Sources said to Securities Daily that Huabei commenced integration with PBOC’s credit system databases as early as 2020.

On 3 June the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) announced that it given its approval for “Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co., Ltd.” (重庆蚂蚁消费金融有限公司) to commence operations, and acquire Ant Group’s Huabei and Jiebei as exclusive brands.

Yu Baicheng (于百程), head of the Lingyi Research Insitute, said that the move marked a shift for Huabei from being a provider of online minor-loans to being a licensed consumer finance provider, thus necessitating its incorporation into the central bank credit system.