Hi fintech friends,

The past week was definitely a week of regulations and compliance in the world of Chinese fintech. Hong Kong and Mainland China are both stepping up their regulations for digital payments and assets.

Starting August 1, 2025, Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority (HKMA) will enforce a robust new regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers linked to the Hong Kong dollar or targeting Hong Kong users. Beyond mandatory licensing, this comes with several mandates, including strong KYC/AML controls, full fiat reserves, clear redemption rights and a minimum capital threshold (of around HKD 25 million) to reduce financial risk.

Meanwhile, China is broadening its financial regulatory oversight by putting its two dominating third-payment platforms—Alipay and Tencent's Tenpay—under direct AML supervision of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Beyond the need to push for a safer financial environment, this move also likely implies reduced operational autonomy for these giants. In a way, we are probably still seeing the carryover effects from the Jack Ma incident 5 years ago. 🤷‍♀️

With that, let's continue with the latest updates in Chinese fintechs.

Financing & Acquisition

• Ping An's digital bank, PAObank secured HK$200 million from Lufax Holding to enhance its technology and expand retail banking services in Hong Kong.
• ZA Global invested $40 million in RD Technologies to support the development of stablecoin technology and blockchain infrastructure.
• Crypto asset platform OSL raised $300 million in equity financing to accelerate global expansion and develop stablecoin offerings.

Product & Partnership Launches

• Revolut pitched its potential expansion into China to investors. While the company views regulators in APAC as "neutral" compared to Britain's "aggressive" stance, it remains unclear how Revolut plans to navigate China’s complex regulatory landscape.
• Airwallex launched a yield product in Singapore after securing a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) license.