Chinese regulators are moving to tighten scrutiny of proliferating mobile apps operated by financial institutions such as banks, brokerages and payment providers amid growing concerns that such applications are putting users’ privacy at risk, reported Caixin.
The National Internet Finance Association, an industry self-regulatory body, picked 23 institutions from banking, securities, fund management, insurance and payment sectors to take part in a pilot program designed to put finance apps under formal oversight.
The selected institutions will be the first to register their financial service apps with NIFA by the end of this year. NIFA will document and review the apps and publish a list of approved apps, the association said in a statement after a Tuesday meeting in Beijing to launch the trial.
NIFA in the future will require all finance apps nationwide to register and will gradually set up mechanisms to share risk information, report misconduct and enhance business compliance
