The Bank of China, one of the four largest state-managed commercial banking institutions in the country with over $3 trillion in assets, introduced its very first Fintech-focused regulatory pilot initiative in Beijing in 2019.
The bank now says it will further expand its regulatory pilot to six additional Chinese cities and districts, beginning on April 27, 2020.
The Bank of China will be launching new Fintech pilot programs in several major local cities including Chongqing, Hangzhou, Hebei Xiong’an New District, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou.
The bank said its main goal is to improve the nation’s financial services so that they can support the rapidly evolving Chinese economy.
The bank said that regulated and innovative Fintech initiatives will aim to protect consumers’ rights. They’ll also assist SMEs with maintaining their operations during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
The Bank of China stated:
“We are aiming to amid the pandemic situation and help enterprises to resume work and production.”
Last year, the bank had published “The Fintech Development Plan (2019-2021)” following the Central Economic Work Conference. The plan included pertinent information such as the guidance ideology, basic principles, development goals, missions, and guarantee mechanisms.
The plan noted that China must establish proper regulations for its Fintech sector, and also develop a three-year roadmap for adopting financial technology infrastructure.
The bank noted:
“The Plan proposes that by 2021, China establish and improve the ‘four beams and eight pillars’ for China’s Fintech development, which includes … accelerating the drafting of basic regulatory rules, monitoring analysis and assessment work; exploring fintech innovation regulatory mechanisms and comprehensive financial statistics; strengthening the specialisation, unification and comprehensiveness of financial regulation.”