Meituan-Dianping Receives Dual Licenses for Small Loan and Private Banking Businesses

BEIJING, Jan. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to China Banking Regulatory Commission, Yilian Bank, a newly formed private bank initiated by Meituan-Dianping, has received initial approval to commence business operation preparation. The dual licenses for small loans and private banking provide Yilian Bank with authority to conduct relevant banking and loan businesses.

As the first Chinese internet company to obtain both licenses for banking and small loan businesses, Meituan-Dianping aims to support millions of local merchants by providing various customized financing products and loan services to enhance the development of Meituan-Dianping's "Internet + Service" ecosystem.

"Consistent with our 'second-half battlefield' strategy, the newly formed banking and loan businesses aim to provide convenient and value-added financial services to millions of micro-and-small local merchants, which is a natural extension to our existing services, including branding, marketing, on-demand delivery, and proprietary IT support system," commented Rongjun MU, Senior Vice President of Meituan-Dianping.

The small-loan lending service of Meituan-Dianping is designed to provide additional financial flexibility to micro-and-small local merchants, especially in the dining industry, where they suffer from lack of lenders and high interest rates. The newly formed business unit and local merchants will share mutual benefits and form tighter business relationships.

With high credit limits, efficient approval process, and easy renewal, the small-loan lending business of Meituan-Dianping will effectively ease the funding pressure of local merchants in China. Meituan-Dianping enjoys the following competitive advantages:

1. Convenient application process: all steps from initial loan request to disbursement can be completed online,
2. Fast loan disbursement: payment can be expected within one day of applying at the fastest;
3. Reasonable interest rate: favorable and competitive loan products are offered;
4. Flexible interest calculation: interest is calculated based upon the remaining loan balance rather than the initial amount borrowed.

"As an internet company, Meituan-Dianping aspires to improve business efficiency with internet-based credit approval technology and flexible interest calculation method in order to provide merchants with more convenient and value-added products," said a senior employee from Meituan-Dianping Financing Business Department. Interest calculation based on loan balance helps to minimize a merchant's repayment pressure and operational cost. For example, a local merchant borrows RMB 500,000 and pays back RMB 20,000 in the following month. The merchant's interest will be calculated based on a principal amount of RMB 480,000 instead of RMB 500,000. As a result, monthly interest rates will gradually decrease.

Meituan-Dianping is one of the largest Internet + Service platform in China, working with over 4.5 million merchants. As the industry enters the second half of the O2O battlefield, Meituan-Dianping continues to improve services and products for local merchants. With the goal of enhancing merchant cooperation and utilizing big data resource, Meituan-Dianping will be able to support merchants' future growth, facilitate "supply reformation", and upgrade the entire service industry.

Financial services will likely to become an essential component in Meituan-Dianping's ecosystem in the second half of the O2O battle. The Company aims to provide an open platform and collaborate with local merchants through diversified and mutually-beneficial services and products to support the growth of our local community.

SOURCE Meituan-Dianping