《外刊精读》蚂蚁集团和金融科技的崛起

蚂蚁的万亿估值背后，是席卷全球的金融科技浪潮 今日导读 六年前的双十一，马云曾在回答媒体提问时表示：“支付宝有一天会在中国上市”。六年后，支付宝母公司蚂蚁集团沪港两地上市的计划终于正式获批。从淘宝的担保支付工具，到如今全球最大的“独角兽” 公司，蚂蚁集团的成长历程，不仅是我国金融科技行业发展的缩影， 也是全球金融转型的见证。今天这篇文章就聚焦了蚂蚁集团身后这股金融科技的浪潮。 如何理解短语 come of age？ 西方使用纸币比中国晚了几个世纪？ 作者为何认为政府应降低金融科技市场的进入壁垒？ 正文 Ant Group and fintech come of age 蚂蚁集团和金融科技的崛起 In 1300 or so Marco Polo introduced Europeans to a monetary marvel witnessed in China. The emperor, he wrote, "causes the bark of trees, made into something like paper, to pass for money all over his country". 公元 1300 年左右，马可·波罗向欧洲人介绍了他在中国目睹的货币奇迹。他在书中写道，皇帝“让人们把树皮制成类似纸张的东西，当作货币通行全国。” Eventually the West also adopted paper money, some six centuries after China invented it. More recent foreign travellers to China have come back agog at the next big step for money: the total disappearance of paper, replaced by pixels on phonescreens. 在中国发明纸币约六个世纪之后，西方最终也用上了纸币。近年访华的外国游客回国后，为他们所津津乐道的则是货币的下一步巨变：纸币已不见踪影，取而代之的是手机屏幕上的像素。 China's pre-eminence in digital money is likely to be on display in the next few weeks with the monster listing of Ant Group, its largest fintech firm, in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Measured by cash raised, it will probably be the biggest initial public offering in history. Ant's rise portends a bigger transformation of how the financial system works — not just in China but around theworld. 中国在数字货币领域的卓越地位也许会在未来几周得到展现，届时中国最大的金融科技公司蚂蚁集团将在香港和上海重磅上市。按融资金额计算，这可能是史上规模最大的一宗首次公开募股（IPO）。蚂蚁集团的崛起预示着金融体系运作方式将迎来更大的转变——不仅在中国，而是遍及全球。 There is much to be excited about. At its best, fintech offers big gains in efficiency. Ant makes razor-thin margins on payments and takes minutes to grant a loan. Digitisation also promises to broaden the spread of finance. Reaching customers will be easier and data will make loan underwriting more accurate. 金融科技的发展让人们充满期待。在最理想的状况下，金融科技可以极大地提高效率。蚂蚁向支付交易收取的费用微乎其微，且只需几分钟便能发放一笔贷款。数字化也有望扩大金融服务的普及度。接触客户会更加容易，运用大数据也会让信贷审批更加精准。 Yet as the fintech surge continues, governments should take a holistic view of financial risk that includes banks and fintech firms. Governments should also lower barriers to entry so as to boost competition. Last, the rise of fintech must be tied to a renewed effort to protect people's privacy from giant companies and the state. 但在当前金融科技的浪潮之下，各国政府也应全面审视金融风险，这既涉及银行，也涉及金融科技公司。各国政府还应降低市场的进入壁垒来促进竞争。最后，金融科技的兴起还须伴随新一轮的努力来保护个人隐私免受巨头公司和政府的侵害。 So long as fintech can be made safer, open and respectful of individual rights, then a monetary innovation led by China will once again change the world for the better. 只要金融科技能够变得更加安全、开放且尊重个人权利，那么一场由中国领头的货币创新就会再次推动世界的进步。