Alibaba-affiliated online bank launches without ability to open user accounts

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.NYSE) affiliate Ant Financial Services Group began operations of its online bank MYbank Thursday despite the current inability of users to actually open accounts, The Wall Street Journal reported. While the bank has registered capital of RMB4 billion (US$644 million) and can issue loans of under RMB5 million to small businesses and consumers, registration is impossible due to regulatory concerns over the facial-recognition technology it hopes to use to verify users’ identities. Ant Financial, which owns a 30% stake in MYbank, did not provide any timetables regarding bank accounts or other vital services on Thursday.