Ant Financial fined for triple breaches

The payment affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has been fined 180,000 yuan (US$28,571) by the central bank for failing to properly inform customers during product promotions and mishandling their personal financial information.

Alipay — the payment service arm operated by Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial — was found to have failed to provide sufficient information for consumers when choosing financial products, among the three breaches cited.

The directive meting out the administrative punishments cited breaches of the Consumer Protection Law and the Administrative Measures for Payment Services of Non-financial Institution, according to a statement by the Hangzhou branch of the People's Bank of China.  

Ant Financial said in an email response that it had already rectified its breaches.