Controversial issue: An Ailpay user protested that the service was like a brothel. PIctured is the Alipay mascot.
BEIJING: The head of Ant Financial Services Group, the payment affiliate of Alibaba Holdings Ltd, apologised on Tuesday following backlash from Chinese netizens over a social feature in the company's payment app that critics say enabled a sexually explicit dating service.
In an internal letter reviewed by Reuters, Chairwoman Lucy Peng said the company had removed a group within the Alipay app's new social feature "circles", including a group called "schoolyard diary" which drew intense fire from Chinese users after its launch on Nov. 24.
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