China's Online Mutual Aid Market Expected to Triple to 450 Million Users by 2025
By 2025, China's online mutual aid industry is expected to reach 450 million users, or nearly 32% of the country’s population, three times the number of current users, according to the Online Mutual Aid Industry White Paper published today by the Research Institute of Ant Group (“the Institute”).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005383/en/
White Paper Predicts Chinese Online Mutual Aid Market to Triple by 2025 (Graphic: Busness Wire)
The industry white paper, the first of its kind in China, surveyed over 58,000 users of online mutual aid on their perceptions of the industry. Nearly 80% of the respondents felt that online mutual aid platforms strengthened their sense of security. Over 53% also stated that they would consider enrolling their family members in online mutual aid programs.
Users of online mutual aid programs in China are primarily from low-income or middle-income households, according to the white paper. Among those surveyed, who took part in March this year by responding to an online questionnaire, 80% earn less than RMB 8,333 (USD 1,180) per month while 72% come from third or lower-tier cities and rural areas.
“Online mutual aid platforms have become a complementary force in China’s comprehensive healthcare system, which is comprised of both essential public coverage for all citizens and commercial health insurance,” said Zheng Bingwen, Director of the World Social Security Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and one of the advisers to the white paper.
The reimbursement rate of China’s serious disease insurance scheme, part of the public healthcare system, is capped at 60%1, leaving a portion that patients still need to pay themselves. According to the white paper, online mutual aid programs serve as a complement by further reducing out-of-pocket expenses accrued in the treatment of critical illnesses, bringing it from 40% to below 20% for patients solely dependent on public healthcare coverage.
The white paper estimates that more than 150 million users had enrolled in various online mutual aid programs in China as of the end of 2019, of which over 100 million use Xiang Hu Bao, the online mutual aid platform housed on Alipay, the world's leading open digital lifestyle platform.
Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, Xiang Hu Bao in February also introduced a temporary one-time protection scheme free of charge for all participants, offering a payout of up to RMB 100,000 (USD 14,000) if someone who takes part passes away from the infection. Payouts were entirely borne by Ant Group and Xiang Hu Bao participants did not need to bear the cost.
“As awareness and concerns about health-care needs grows in China, especially since the Covid-19 outbreak, public demand for more comprehensive and diversified healthcare coverage will continue to rise,” said Ming Yin, Vice President of Ant Group. “Online mutual aid platforms will have an increasingly important role to play in providing a basic health plan for people, who can then choose from a wide range of healthcare services and policies.”
“We are committed to serving more users across China and providing them with inclusive mutual aid programs tailored to their specific needs,” Mr. Yin said.
While nearly 70% of online mutual aid participants surveyed in the white paper said they were not covered by commercial health insurance, over 42% said they intend to purchase such insurance products in the future.
This finding is in line with a survey conducted by FT Confidential Research2 in June 2019, which found that 33% of Xiang Hu Bao’s participants intended to buy a critical illness insurance product over the next six months, versus only 22% of those who do not use the platform.
About Xiang Hu Bao
Xiang Hu Bao, which literally means “mutual protection,” was launched in October 2018 and provides its participants with a basic health plan covering 100 types of critical illness, including thyroid cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, critical brain injury and acute myocardial infarction. All participants equally share the risk of becoming critically ill and collectively bear the related medical expenses. On the Xiang Hu Bao platform, the entire evidence submission process is powered by Alipay’s proprietary consortium blockchain technology, which ensures the process is tamper-proof and helps to increase the platform’s transparency, differentiating itself from other mutual aid platforms. While Xiang Hu Bao is not a health insurance product, it complements premium health insurance offerings in the market that have a wider range and depth of coverage.
About Alipay
Alipay is the world's leading open digital lifestyle platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group (Ant Group). In 2004, Alipay launched as an escrow service to address the issue of trust between online buyers and sellers in the early days of e-commerce in China. Continuously innovating to bring mobile payment to the world, Alipay serves more than 1.2 billion users worldwide together with its global e-wallet partners as of June 30, 2019. Alipay has evolved from a payment tool to become a one-stop digital lifestyle platform. Through an open platform strategy, it introduces service providers from sectors such as local living, public services, and financial services, to bring consumers a more comprehensive experience. Along the way, it helps merchants digitalize their operations, promoting digital transformation in the service industry.
Alipay actively shares its financial technology experience with overseas partners, in order to bring inclusive financial services to the world. Working with more than 250 overseas financial institutions, Alipay created online payment channels for buyers and sellers in more than 200 countries and regions. When Chinese people travel abroad, they can pay directly using their mobile phones, and receive dedicated local merchant services through Alipay. These services have been introduced in 56 countries and regions. Tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 35 countries and regions, and Alipay supports 27 different currencies. In addition, foreign tourists and foreigners living in China can also use Alipay for mobile payments in the country.
1 Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/12/c_138052821.htm
2 Source: https://www.ft.com/content/3bbf683e-a325-11e9-974c-ad1c6ab5efd1
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200507005383/en/
Contact information
Media Enquiries
Bell Wang
E: yixing.wl@antfin.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Takeda Announces Compelling Data from the Phase 2 Trial of Pevonedistat Plus Azacitidine in Patients with Higher-Risk MDS29.5.2020 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced the results of the Phase 2 Pevonedistat-2001 trial will be presented during oral sessions at the virtual 56th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and the virtual 25th European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Meeting. The study evaluated pevonedistat plus azacitidine versus azacitidine alone in patients with rare leukemias, including higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS). These results show that the combination of pevonedistat and azacitidine is a highly active, promising therapeutic approach and suggest benefit in the HR-MDS subgroup across multiple clinically meaningful endpoints, including overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), complete remission (CR) and transfusion independence, with a safety profile similar to azacitidine alone. The Pevonedistat-2001 trial was designed as a proof-of-concept study in patients with HR-MDS, higher-risk chronic myelomonocytic leuke
Takeda to Present Data from the ICLUSIG® (ponatinib) Clinical Trial Program that Could Prove Practice-Changing for the Treatment of Chronic-Phase CML29.5.2020 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced that interim analysis data from the Phase 2 OPTIC (Optimizing Ponatinib Treatment In CML) trial will be presented during an oral session at the virtual 56th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and the 25th European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Meeting. The OPTIC trial is an ongoing, randomized, open-label study prospectively evaluating response-based dosing regimens of ICLUSIG® (ponatinib) over a range of three starting doses (45-, 30-, or 15-mg) with the aim of optimizing its efficacy and safety in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) who are resistant or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. With a median follow-up of approximately 21 months, data from the interim analysis of OPTIC show that the optimal benefit-risk profile for ICLUSIG in patients with CP-CML is achieved with a daily starting dose of 45-mg and, upon achieving ≤1% BCR
Interim Data from the Open Label Phase 2 OPTIC Study of Iclusig® (ponatinib) for Chronic Phase-CML Presented at the ASCO and EHA Virtual Meetings29.5.2020 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) today announced that data from the interim analysis of the Phase 2 OPTIC (Optimizing Ponatinib Treatment In CML) trial, which was sponsored by Takeda and co-funded by Incyte, will be presented during an oral session at the upcoming 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology Virtual Meeting (ASCO20; May 29 – May 31) (Abstract #7502)1; and at the virtual 25th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA25; June 11 – 14) (Abstract #S172)2. The OPTIC trial is an ongoing randomized, open-label study prospectively evaluating response-based dosing regimens of Iclusig® (ponatinib) over a range of three starting doses (45 mg, 30 mg, 15 mg) with the aim of optimizing its efficacy and safety in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML), who are resistant or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. With a median follow up of approximately 21 months, data from the interim analysis of the OPTIC trial show that the optimal benefit-r
Takeda Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for Pre-Filled Syringe Presentation of TAKHZYRO® (lanadelumab) for Use as a Preventive Treatment for Hereditary Angioedema Attacks29.5.2020 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) (“Takeda”) today announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion on a Type II Variation regulatory application and recommended the approval of a pre-filled syringe presentation of TAKHZYRO® (lanadelumab). TAKHZYRO is a subcutaneous injectable prescription medication approved in Europe for routine prevention of recurrent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients aged 12 years and older. HAE is a rare genetic disorder that results in recurrent attacks of oedema – swelling – in various parts of the body, including the abdomen, face, feet, genitals, hands and throat.1,2,3 “Our goal is to continuously innovate in all areas of HAE management,” said Isabel Kalofonos, Global Product Strategy Lead, HAE, Takeda. “This positive opinion marks another important step forward as we aim to enhance the experience of treatment administration for peo
LetsGetChecked Debuts FDA EUA-Authorized At-Home Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sure-track Test29.5.2020 14:57:00 EEST | Press release
LetsGetChecked, the leading direct-to-consumer at-home health testing and insights company, announces today the authorization of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) Sure-track Test for at-home consumer use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under an EUA. The new test is authorized to serve at-risk individuals with a proprietary at-home PCR nasal swab test that delivers accurate and definitive results within 24 hours. Offering an end-to-end model, LetsGetChecked’s new Sure-track Test introduces the most complete FDA EUA-authorized Coronavirus at-home testing solution. The at-home Coronavirus (COVID-19) test incorporates a nasal swab and PCR lab analysis, offering convenient and secure results in 24 hours. Unlike serology tests that detect the presence of antibodies, the at-home COVID-19 test determines the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. LetsGetChecked’s Sure-track Test is the only FDA EUA-authorized at-home Coronavirus (COVID-19) test that owns all aspects of the testing
Boehringer Ingelheim receives positive CHMP opinion for a third nintedanib indication in pulmonary fibrosis129.5.2020 14:38:00 EEST | Press release
Boehringer Ingelheim today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending an additional indication for nintedanib in adults for the treatment of other chronic fibrosing interstitial lung diseases with a progressive phenotype beyond IPF.1 The opinion is based on the positive results of the INBUILD® phase III trial, the first study to evaluate adults with a broad range of chronic fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and a progressive disease behaviour.2 This follows the FDA’s and Health Canada’s approval of nintedanib as the first treatment for the same patient population.3,4 Interstitial lung diseases encompass a large group of more than 200 disorders that may involve the threat of pulmonary fibrosis – an irreversible scarring of lung tissue that negatively impacts lung function.5 People living with fibrosing ILD can develop a progressive phenotype, leading to lung functio
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom