Yilian Bank, a newly created private bank in China, has secured dual licenses from China Banking Regulatory Commission to conduct loans and private banking businesses.
Yilian, which is owned by Meituan-Dianping, is the first Chinese internet firm to receive licenses for both banking and loan businesses.
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The small-loan lending business is aimed at offering financial flexibility to micro-and-small local merchants, with a focus on the dining industry that Meituan-Dianping said faces lack of lenders and high interest rates.
All steps including initial loan request and disbursement can be completed online and payment can be expected within a day of approval.
Meituan-Dianping also said that it will calculate interest based on the remaining loan balance and not the initial amount borrowed.
Meituan-Dianping senior vice president Rongjun MU said: "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."
