Peak Fintech Group (PKK.C) inked an agreement today with Rongbang Technology, a subsidiary of China UnionPay, for the ability to process payments, handle transactions and transfer funds between lenders, banks, and businesses involved in their lending hub ecosystem, according to a press release.

The highlights of the transaction are that Rongbang Technology will now have the ability to completely control the flow of funds within the Lending Hub ecosystem. Peak’s clients will enjoy the benefits of virtual bank accounts within the ecosystem where they can maintain cash balances and pay for products and services.

“We are committed to the secure and efficient flow of funds throughout the country, which we believe is essential to the health of the economy. We know that small businesses, particularly those in the supply chain, play a critical role in the circulation of funds. So when we learned about what Peak was doing with the Lending Hub, we knew that this was something that we wanted to support as we believe Peak’s interests and our interests are perfectly aligned in that regard. We look forward to working with Peak to promote our respective service offerings for the mutual benefit of both of our organizations,” said Gang Sun, director of business development at Rongbang.

Peak Fintech Group is the parent company behind a handful of financial technology subsidiaries working in China’s commercial lending industry. Their subsidiaries work with technology, analytics and artificial intelligence to develop an ecosystem of lenders, borrowers and other financial participants in China’s lending arena where operations can be managed safely, efficiently and transparently.

Peak’s value proposition here is in the ability to debit and credit its clients’ real bank accounts held outside of the Lending Hub ecosystem, as well as other options like escrow services. Basically, any transaction involving the movement of funds will give Peak a service fee, potentially doubling their present transaction fees, and giving them new fees on loan disbursements and every loan repayment transaction. They can anticipate a 1.5% to 3% annual fee on the aggregate value of funds held in their clients’ bank accounts, and the first transactions will be processed in Q2, 2021.

The company’s price trajectory has shown an incline, accompanying the general market trend over the past few weeks. At present, they’re up 11.5% on the day, having risen $0.22 to where now they now sit at $2.10 at the time of writing.

—Joseph Morton