Sina to launch online banking platform

Chinese internet company Sina has revealed plans to release an online banking platform in September 2013.

 

The new service, dubbed WeiBank, will allow consumers to make financial transactions, complete bank transfers, make remittances, manage credit card and perform other money-related tasks online.

 

Sina has yet to disclose specific details of business model and the degree to which the product is integrated with Sina’s other products. Sina started to explore the internet payment business in 2011. The company launched the online payment tool SinaPay and upgraded the service into WeiboPay (micro-blogging wallet) in 2012. Every Weibo user automatically has a WeiboPay account.

 

In Q1 2013, Sina has seen its net revenue reaching USD 126 billion, up by 20 percent y-o-y. During the same period, its advertising revenue has jumped 20 percent to USD 94.3 million and non-advertising revenue has increased by 14 percent to USD 31.7 million.