Hong Kong prepares to usher in virtual banks, as 60 firms apply to be pioneers in financial revolution

When SagaDigits, a HK$2 million (US$254,820) start-up, wanted to add post-merger shareholders and signatories to its corporate bank account, its chief executive approached a Hong Kong bank for help.

What happened next turned into many months of back-and-forth paperwork and arguments with the lender, said the company’s chief executive officer, Arthur Chan. He even spent a month tracking down his bank relationship manager after the staff was relocated to another branch.

“It took six months to fix what I thought was a simple matter,” Chan said in an interview with the South China Morning Post, declining to name his bank. “The way that traditional banks handle their small and medium-sized clients is too difficult and simply unsatisfactory.”

China’s tech giants have a bold plan to monetise their user base -- become their banker

Chan, whose very business is engaged in using big data to help companies enhance their services and products, is gunning for a revolution in Hong Kong’s banking and finance industry.