Pinduoduo Angling to Indirectly Acquire Third-Party Payment License
IT Times, 8/07/18
Chinese group buy app Pinduoduo (Nasdaq: PDD) is reportedly seeking to obtain a third-party payment license indirectly from Shanghai-based electronic bill presentment and payment platform operator FFT Information Service. FFT's third-party payment license is reportedly valued at between RMB 500 mln and RMB 700 mln.
Colin Huang, founder of Pinduoduo, reportedly made investments in FFT between late May and June 2018, according to corporate registration information reported by media outlet IT Times. A company named Shanghai Yiyi Information Technology is FFT's second-largest shareholder with a 39.64% stake, and YiYi Information Technology's actual controlling shareholder is Hangzhou-based Legu Investment Consulting, a firm in which Colin Huang holds a 95% stake.
During Pinduoduo's recent efforts to combat the sale of counterfeit goods through its platform, some users questioned why fines levied against vendors of counterfeit products were reimbursed to customers in the form of Pinduoduo coupons, rather than in cash, and Colin Huang replied that the platform was unable to issue cash payments due to its lack of a payments license. The company should now be in a position to offer a better solution as it enters the payment market indirectly.
Keywords: mobile payment FFT Information Service wireless third-party payment Colin Huang Pinduoduo PDD group buying M&A m-commerce
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