MYbank, an online private commercial bank under Ant Financial, announced on Monday that it has served nearly 20.9 million small and micro businesses in China as of the end of 2019, up 70% year-on-year, according to an Ant Financial’s press release.
The company has been increasing exponentially its number of clients. MYbank served 2.8 million firms in 2016, 5.7 million firms in 2017, and 12.3 million companies in 2018 before reaching the 20 million quota last year.
The average outstanding loan size was RMB 31,000 (USD 4,300) in 2019, an increase of nearly 20% compared to last year.
Ant Financial said MYbank has already lent to about 50% of small and micro businesses in China and plans to reach 70% of them in 2020.
To help firms recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, MYbank has been offering 12-month loans to online merchants from Hubei province registered on Taobao and Tmall with zero-interest for the first three months and a 20% lower interest rate through the rest of the year. Merchants from outside Hubei can also have their interest rates lowered by 20% for 12 months.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.