China has outstripped fintech hubs like London, New York, and Silicon Valley, and is now the global leader in financial innovation, according to a new report released by financial service firm EY and DBS Insights.
According to the Rise of Fintech In China report, China has experienced an explosive growth period for fintech, led by innovations churned out of Chinese hubs including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing–meaning it’s not just moving towards being the global center for fintech, but that it already is.
“The epicenter of financial innovation, which will shape the future of finance, is China,” says Neal Cross, chief innovation officer at DBS Bank, and this does seem supported by the numbers—from the report:
China has a huge amount of white space open to disruptive and innovative models, as evidenced by the exponential growth in Chinese FinTech investments. The numbers speak for themselves, with FinTech investments in China surging to US$8.8 billion between July 2015 to June 2016, equivalent to an increase of 252% since 2010.
In addition, 8 of the world’s 27 fintech “unicorns” are based in China, and according to the report Chinese fintech is targeting seven key areas, among them personal finance management, online insurance, P2P lending platforms, and of course, payments—innovations in all of which are growing in popularity among the Chinese consumer.
25% of Chinese customers purchased insurances via fintech platforms like Zhong An, partnered with Chinese bank Ping An, while 40% of Chinese consumers are adopting new payment methods, like Ant Financial’s Alipay service.
According to the report, there is also a huge amount of support for innovation by the state—the Chinese government raised a $231 billion fund for startups in 2015; and currently operates more than 750 separate funds across the country.
Part of fintech’s consumer popularity in China is due to the country’s approach to the sector. As in Western markets financial innovation was driven by problems with Chinese incumbent banks and unmet customer needs, but the way that innovation is approached is significantly different than in the West.
“Chinese fintechs are very customer-focused, and some of them don’t feel like banks at all,” says Cross. “They’re very focused on created experiences so people can do what they need to get done… which can be very different from a banking experience.”