An Ant Financial-affiliated company, dubbd Ant Xiong’an Digital Technology Co., Ltd., has signed a strategic cooperation agreement on April 20 with Xiong’an Branch of the Bank of China, to carry out in-depth cooperation on the blockchain-based home rental project in Xiong’an, the newest state-level economic zone southwest of Beijing.

The two parties seek to provide relevant financial services to all players in the real estate rental market.

In recent years, residential leasing sector, a relatively traditional industry, has become the pain of many large cities in the rapid development. The sector suffers from many thorny problems, including the proliferation of fraudulent leasing and the illegal estate agents,  lack of trust between tenants and landlords, and low transaction efficiency. The value of blockchain technology lies in building a more reliable internet system, and fundamentally solving the problems of scams and rent-seeking activities in the process of value exchange and transfer.

It is reported that Ant Xiong’an and the local branch of the Bank of China will rely on big data and analytical applications in various fields, such as fintech, retail banking, consumer finance, open credit platforms, and smart city services, to provide accurate service for users and achieve intelligent risk monitoring.

This initiative is part of the Xiong’an blockchain-based home rental platform developed by Alibaba’s payment arm Ant Financial. The plat form was quietly launched in January, making it the country’s first case to apply blockchain technology in the residential leasing sector.

Ant Financial serves as a provider of core blockchain technology for this platform. China Construction Bank and the major real estate agency ,Beijing Lianjia Real Estate Agency Co., ,support the project by providing leasing information.

Ant Financial said that through the cooperation with the Bank of China,they will provide better financial service in the home renting area. In addition, both parties will cooperate in other businesses , like payment and  financial services for large companies.