World Bank leads Compare Asia’s funding to spur Hong Kong customers to switch banks
World Bank’s International Finance Corp. leads a US$50 million funding round of CompareAsiaGroup, the parent of MoneyHero, a price comparison website for financial services from credit cards to mortgages and insurance
Compare Asia Group, the parent company of MoneyHero, a Hong Kong-based price comparison website, said it’s completed a US$50 million series B fundraising round led by the World Bank’s private sector arm the International Finance Corp., underscoring the popularity of financial technology, or fintech, in helping consumers find the best bargain for financial services from credit cards to mortgages.
The four year old company will use the funding to enhance its user experience to help improve the level of financial literacy in Hong Kong and drive innovation by encouraging customers to shop around when choosing financial products.
Hong Kong’s consumers tend to be more loyal to their banks, and less prone to switching out of their traditional financial service models, which leave the city’s lenders with little compulsion to change their products or services, compared with financial firms across the boder in China.
“What we are doing is making it easier for them” to pick and choose, said MoneyHero’s managing director Rachel Lam.“Financial literacy in Hong Kong also lags behind other places, and our attempts to improve this were a reason for the IFC’s investment in the company.”