BEIJING, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- HNA Tourism Group ("HNA Group") announced the formation of a new wholly-owned subsidiary - E-Life Financial Services Holding Group ("E-Life Financial"). E-Life Financial will serve as the financial and payment arm for HNA Tourism, so as to develop a complete end-to-end service and payment system in the tourism industry.
E-Life Financial also announced the signing of several strategic partnership agreements with leading payment, internet banking, financial services and tourism industry brands, including MasterCard, NetEase, Inc., TUNIU CORP, CAISSA Tourism, ACI WORLDWIDE PTE LTD, Beijing Capital Airlines and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. This is expected to accelerate the strategic development of "tourism + finance". The company will rely on its advantage and resources to devote its three core assets - payment, financing and value-added services - surrounding the tourism industry.
Rooted in tourism and relying on financial innovation, E-Life Financial's subsidiaries include Easy Card Co., Worthtech Co., Transforex Co., Easy Credit and New Generation Lottery Co. These subsidiaries provide all the licenses required to build an open payment and financial services platform that meets the needs of the travelers and tourism industry. The E-Life platform and wallet service offerings range from closed loop, semi-open loop and open loop prepaid cards/accounts management, internet payment, foreign currency exchange, electronic travelers cheques, tax refunds to payment acquiring services, consumer finance, micro lending and lottery.
As a licensed and qualified financial payment service provider, E-Life Financial will use the customer base and group resources from its parent company, HNA Group, a Fortune 500 company, as a starting point. In the meantime, E-Life Financial will also target all the players within the tourism industry and serve as an open service platform.
At present, the company is carrying out in-depth cooperation with MasterCard in cross-boarder settlements and electronic travelers cheques, building a financial platform and kick-starting its online presence with NetEase, providing financial supporting services for tourism products with Tuniu and Caissa Tourism, focusing on the direct integration of tourism products and financial services. It also cooperates with ACI and its Universal Payments offerings in online payment, offline payment and merchant acquiring services for establishing the biggest payment center/network in China. Additionally, the company is working on Beijing Capital Airlines' membership management, customization of financial derivative products and financial supply chain. It also carries out concrete cooperation with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in the foreign currency business, international tax reimbursement and cross boarder payments.
With the increasing of national income and the improvement of living conditions, China's tourism sector is gaining momentum in recent years and will witness rapid development in 2016. James Chen, the CEO of E-Life Financial said: "Travelers need a seamless customer experience and a safe, convenient way to pay. They also ask for one-stop shopping for end to end financial services before, during and after the trip. Similar requirements also come from the tourism industry. Our mission is to fulfill the needs of both end consumers and the industry. The ultimate goal is to forge an international payment and financial services system that meets Chinese travelers' needs."
