Next big thing for Hong Kong’s virtual banks: wealth management

Insurance and investment products are the ‘next phase’ for the city’s newest lenders, according to ZA Bank’s chief executive

New entrants use higher savings rates, technology to shake up city’s crowded banking industry

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The new virtual banks are focusing on deposits, payments, loans and cards for the time being. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:30am, 7 Oct 2020Updated: 10:49pm, 7 Oct 2020

The next big thing for Hong Kong’s virtual banks is an expansion into wealth management as part of the “next phase” of their development, according to a group of top executives from the city’s newest crop of lenders.

Speaking on a panel discussion on Tuesday as part of the Post’s “Redefining Hong Kong” series, Rockson Hsu, chief executive of ZA Bank, said the newest entrants to the city’s crowded banking landscape are focusing on deposits, payments, loans and cards for now. The series was hosted virtually for the first time, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Payment is a key thing. That is something we are all striving [for],” Hsu said. “The next phase we are offering will be I&I – insurance and investing. Those are key needs from the community-driven approach where we hear our users say ‘on top of the minimum viable products, what’s next?’”

ZA Bank, the first virtual bank to debut in the city, has attracted 190,000 customers since its full launch in March. It is co-owned by online insurer Zhong An Online P&C Insurance and Sinolink Group.

Hong Kong approved eight new virtual banking licences last year to spur innovation and competition in the financial services sector, with four lenders joining the market in the past three weeks. The banking landscape already contains 155 traditional lenders for a city of 7.5 million people.

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