“Balance Keeper”, Alibaba’s Next Big Financial Ambition

This seems like a silly question, but are you willing to put your spare money in the bank or to Alibaba’s Alipay?

Recently, Alipay’s key product-“Balance Keeper” declares to be formally launched, which is one of the value-added services created by China’s third-party leading payment method, Alipay. The funds are used to invest in government bonds, bank certificates of deposit and other safe, stable financial methods.

According to Alipay, the funds that users put in “Balance Keeper” is not actually transferred to Alipay account, but to buy monetary fund, and these funds are managed by the fund companies accordingly. The income of the “Balance Keeper” is not the “interest”, but the investment income of users’ monetary fund. If users choose to spend the money online, then it means that they are taking back the funds. The entire process is just as easy as withdrawing money from their Alipay accounts.

Yesterday, reporters surprisingly saw on Alipay official website “June 18, 2013, the gain of “Balance Keeper”: 4.676% (seven-year rate of return),” This figure is not only almost ten times more than the current bank account, but slight higher than one month’s ultra short-term bank financing, and the current average market rate of return.

As to its official statement, the funds in the “Balance Keeper” can be conveniently used for online shopping or money transferring, and calls charging etc, but if the paying feature is turned off, then the account is not usable for consuming. Moreover, Alipay can also provide financial security services, and full compensation for stolen funds.