Topic

WeLabi

WeLab is a financial technology (fintech) company headquartered in Hong Kong that operates one of Hong Kong's first virtual banks and a mobile lending platform in China.

Advertisement
  • Virtual banks are likely to develop as big players as they fit in with Hong Kong’s culture of being ‘quick with everything’, analyst says
  • Unsecured lending key to virtual lenders turning profitable: Hong Kong consultancy

However, Hong Kong’s lenders are lagging behind peers in Europe, Britain, and Canada, according to the survey by a Paris-based management consultancy exclusively previewed by the Post.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement

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

videocam

Here comes another HSBC challenger. Digital lender WeLab opens for business with a 4.5 per cent interest rate for deposits from as low as HK$10, and a time-limited 8 per cent rebate on card spending.

Old stalwarts like HSBC and Standard Chartered, and new virtual banks offer cash prizes and high interest rates in a fierce battle to attract customers opening accounts to receive their HK$10,000 payout.

videocam

HKMA unveils a US$1.4 million wage subsidy programme to spur hiring in financial sector for Class of 2020 graduates amid a bleak job market outlook.

videocam

Five virtual banks miss the HKMA’s target launch date as coronavirus drags on operations. The delay gives the city’s incumbent banks have more time to buffer themselves against disruption.

Banks, insurers and a lending platform in Hong Kong are seeing a surge in online transactions as the biggest health scare since 2003 puts the city’s readiness on trial.

videocam

The race for talent is heating up, as eight banking licenses awarded by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) must commence operations in the coming months, while 21 technology companies are bidding for five digital bank licenses in Singapore.

Chan Ka-keung, former Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, will become the chairman of WeLab Digital, which is likely to become operational in the next six to nine months.

videocam