A bank backed by Chinese online firm Alibaba, MYbank, has started functioning in China. The bank is offering all its services digitally as there are no physical branches. It will be open 24/7. The bank is targeting those who find it difficult to transact with the existing banking system like the SMEs who struggle to fit into a financial bracket for loans and services, and those in rural areas who have issues accessing branches and banks in person. The bank has been set up by Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate. A spokesperson for Ant Financial said answering to the needs of those who have limited access to financial services in China is the mission of the new bank and it will give affordable loans for small and micro enterprises, and it is not for the rich, but for the little guys. Earlier, Tencent, the creator of smash-hit chat app WeChat, began piloting WeBank, which was China’s first digital bank, in January of this year.
