Chinese tech firms are releasing their own virtual credit cards

Alipay, the online payment subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Internet titan Tencent are both set to expand further into the financial sector with the launch of new online credit cards on Tuesday. In a statement sent to the Global Times Tuesday, Alipay said it is joining with China CITIC Bank to issue online credit cards for all types of online shopping starting from next week. 

In China, tech firms are making it easier for consumers than ever before to shop and purchase goods online. Rather than requiring you to have a traditional credit card applied via banks, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced that its payments arm Alipay will collaborate with China’s CITIC Bank to start issuing one million virtual credit cards next week, approving the creditworthiness of applicants based on their online shopping histories. This means that CITIC Bank will impose credit limits based on information from Alipay on the applicant’s online shopping behavior. The minimum credit limit is CNY200 ($33).