In January 2020, ICBC launched a one-year term deposit service via Alipay, enabling customers to purchase one-year term deposits directly through the platform. As of May, the bank has witnessed a seven-fold increase in the scale of the service.

The new three-year term deposit service has an annual interest rate of 3.79% and can be found on the Alipay platform under the name of “Anxin Cun” (Secure Deposits). The font size of the landing page has also been enlarged to ensure the service is easily accessible to elders.

ICBC is accelerating its digital transformation process to integrate more use cases for its users and provide more comprehensive services.

In December, 2019, ICBC, Alibaba Group (“Alibaba”), and Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Group”) entered a comprehensive strategic partnership to enhance the services available to users by deepening their level of cooperation in the key areas of fintech and financial services. Under the partnership agreement, the parties will work together more closely and improve the quality of fintech offerings by using smart technologies and product innovation.

With the common aim of leveraging technology to make financial services more convenient and inclusive for merchants and consumers, Alipay and ICBC began collaborating as early as March 2005 to offer online payment services to users. ICBC was the first bank in China to partner with Alipay to deliver online payments, demonstrating the bank’s innovation and inclusivity.

Alipay is evolving from a platform that provides inclusive financial services to an open, vibrant digital ecosystem that offers users a gateway into a comprehensive digital lifestyle. In March, Alipay announced a three-year plan to further open up its platform to support the digital transformation of 40 million service providers across China and unlock more growth opportunities.