TikTok Parent Company ByteDance Acquires UIPay

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2020
  • ByteDance — the parent company of TikTok — has acquired third-party payment company UIPay. These are the details.

ByteDance — the parent company of TikTok — has acquired third-party payment company UIPay. This deal will enable ByteDance to utilize its domestic payment capability.

This deal was done by ByteDance acquiring UIPay’s operator Wuhan Hezhong Yibao Technology Co through an entity called Tianjin Tongrong E-commerce Co, according to Reuters. The change in ownership occurred on August 28. ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming owns Tianjin Tongrong.

“The acquisition is to supplement the existing major payment options, and to ultimately enhance user experience on our multiple platforms in China,” said ByteDance in a recent statement to Reuters

Launched in 2012, UIPay had received a third-party payment license from China’s central bank in 2014. And rumors first surfaced about ByteDance buying UIPay in 2018. ByteDance said the two companies were business partners at the time.

ByteDance has been aggressively hiring for a team focused on building a network and a platform providing cross-border payment solutions for the firm. And two of Reuters’ sources said ByteDance had applied for a digital banking license in Singapore.

In July, ByteDance obtained a license for micro-lending and the company is also pursuing steps to get into the online stock brokerage and wealth management business in Hong Kong.

In the U.S., ByteDance was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump to divest TikTok in America or get banned due to security concerns over the way it handles personal data.