The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) partnered with Ant Financial and Alibaba to jointly develop a wide range of new financial technology services.

ICBC, which is one of the largest banks in China, is a long standing partner of both companies and was the first to offer compatibility with Ant Financial’s mobile payment service Alipay.

In a statement ICBC noted the closer relationship would allow the three to “explore new services on a broader scale”. Its focus areas include global corporate finance and “financial innovation”.

The bank is currently pushing its digital play and last month opened a financial technology research institute.

For Ant Financial, the partnership is the latest in a number of commercial deals with traditional financial institutions in China and other target markets as it looks extend both the scope and range of its services beyond mobile payments.