By David Barboza
Last June, an affiliate of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba made an offer to its hundreds of millions of users: Give us your cash, and we will pay more than Chinese banks will.
Savers swamped the company seeking interest rates that were significantly higher than the low rates fixed by the government. By early February, 81 million people had signed up for the company’s money market product called Yu’e Bao, which translates as “leftover treasure.”
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