Ant Group stops offering sales of online deposit products at Chinese banks

Alibaba’s Ant Group said on Friday it had stopped allowing individuals to deposit funds with banks via its online platform Alipay, as regulatory demands to fend off financial risks mount.

Ant has "voluntarily removed" the online deposit products from Alipay "in accordance with the recent regulatory requirements for online deposits services," according to a company statement. The removal will not impact existing individuals who have already deposited money with banks via Alipay, it added.

The financial arms of big tech companies including JD Digits, Didi Chuxing and Baidu Inc's Du Xiaoman Financial have been offering high-yield deposits at local banks on its apps.

China’s regulators have warned tech giants that they face closer scrutiny. A planned $37-billion stock listing of Ant Group was suspended in November after the regulatory warning.