Hello fintech community,

I hope you're all enjoying the lovely summer weather!

Below you'll find the latest updates from the Chinese fintech space for the month of May, covering funding news and new product launches.

As always, I welcome your feedback and any news tips you'd like to share - you can reach me on our site or LinkedIn. And if you're finding this weekly fintech roundup useful, please feel free to pass it along to your connections.

Thank you, and I hope you find the information valuable.

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Licensing & Regulations 

• Paytm withdrew its general insurance license application and will focus on the distribution-only model. It also announced a restructuring initiative that includes layoffs with an undisclosed number of employees following the regulatory crackdown.
• Canada fined Binance $4.38 millions for money laundering violations. 

Financing, Investment & Acquisition 

• Fuiou Pay has submitted an IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 
• Dutch bank ABN AMRO will acquire private German bank Hauck Aufhauser Lampe from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for $730 million.
• The valuation of OPay, a China-backed African fintech operating in Nigeria and Egypt, has risen to nearly $3 billion. 
• Hong Kong's Gome FinTech acquired Chinese game developer CashBox for $25.6 million. 
• Lianlian Digital acquired an EMI license in Luxembourg.

Product & Partnership Launches 

• China’s Pyvio partnered with UK-based Currencycloud to provide cross-border payment solutions for Chinese e-commerce businesses.
• Airwallex launched a new program targeting startups. As part of a new program, Airwallex is offering to waive initial FX fees for startups. They have also recently partnered with TikTok Shop to provide payment solutions. 
• Payments startup PhotonPay & Discover Global Network partnered to launch PhotonPay Commercial Card. 
• XTransfer, a Chinese B2B cross border payments company, partnered with Terrapay, a Singaporean cross border payments company to expand its payment acceptance capabilities.
• Mastercard NetsUnion began processing domestic payments in China. 
• Ant Group and Mastercard launched a new program to boost tourism and local businesses in Shanghai, China.

Other News 

• China's revised State Secrets Law mandates internet firms like Tencent and Weibo to remove leaked data and cooperate with government probes.
• Hong Kong launched a new pilot program to test out the Chinese central bank's digital yuan for retail purchases and cross-border payments.
• TikTok Shop decided to put EU plans on hold, and to focus on the US now. 

Other Reads

• In China’s Tech Sphere, Everything Eventually Descends Into a Price War
• The E-CNY: China’s Digital Dilemma
• To Stay or To Go: Decoding Chinese Enterprises’ ‘India Dilemma’

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