Birth of a FinTech Behemoth: Ant Financial Services Group is Established

In November 2014, Alipay, the payments affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, was formally restructured into Ant Financial Services Group (Ant Financial). Based in Hangzhou, China, the company aimed to move beyond payment services to build a comprehensive FinTech platform encompassing micro-lending, wealth management, credit scoring, and more.

Ant Financial's establishment marked the large-scale disruption of traditional banking services by non-traditional technology companies. By leveraging big data and mobile internet advantages, Ant Financial rapidly grew into one of the world's largest FinTech companies, fundamentally reshaping the landscape of inclusive and digital finance in China and globally.