FF News Logo
Monday, June 01, 2026
money2020 Europe x FFNews

Breaking News

EXCLUSIVE: “Payments Re-Engineered” – Nigel Thacker, Silverflow and Victor Padee, Aevi in ‘The Fintech Magazine’ Orchestrating Data Intelligence to Maximize Unit Margins and Corporate Velocity | payabl., Torus, Raiffeisen Bank | FF Virtual Arena #363 Fraud Trends 2026: AI Scams, Deepfakes, and Emerging Threats Woodforest National Bank Selects Jack Henry to Power Growth with a Modern, Integrated Platform Sircon Compensation Recognized for Helping Carriers Turn Agent Compensation Into a Competitive Advantage Saris Raises $28.8 Million to Scale Agentic Workflow Automation for Financial Institutions Multimodal and Multilingual Conversational AI Agents in Customer Support Speed, Flexibility, Scale: INCAT’s Formula for Building the Next Generation of Digital Banks AirPlus International and Kresus Technologies Help European Businesses Regain Control of Their Indirect Purchasing, in Collaboration with Mastercard Neema’s Dynamic Routing® Helps Financial Institutions Cut Payout Costs by Up to 24% EXCLUSIVE: “Setting The Pace” – Barb Morgan, Temenos in ‘The Fintech Magazine’ Ballerine Unveils Agenticom.org to Map and Solve Trust Gaps in Agentic Commerce ROLLER Partners with Adyen to Empower Over 3,000 Venues with Fast, Embedded Financing through Capital U.S. Faster Payments Council and ASC X9 Establish Joint Standards Steering Committee to Advance Faster Payments Standards Initiatives Securing Autonomous Agents in the Era of Agentic Commerce
WeLab takes its virtual banking battle to Hong Kong’s bricks-and-mortar lenders with higher rates, rebates in opening salvo | Fintech Finance

July 31 2020

WeLab takes its virtual banking battle to Hong Kong’s bricks-and-mortar lenders with higher rates, rebates in opening salvo

Share this post:

Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp
Hong Kong’s newest virtual bank is seeking a slice of the city’s banking business by stirring up competition at a time when the Covid-19 outbreak is driving more consumers and businesses to online platforms.

WeLab Bank opened for business today after a three-month trial by dangling a 4.5 per cent annual rate on deposits from as little as HK$10 (US$1.30), it said on its debut. The firm will also offer a juicy time-limited 8 per cent rebate on customer spending.

The firm is the third of eight virtual banks seeking to chip away at market leaders HSBC and Standard Chartered’s mainstay businesses, after ZA Bank and Airstar Bank. They are, however, entering an overcrowded marketplace, with 155 traditional lenders serving a city of 7.5 million people.

“The Covid-19 pandemic offers opportunities and challenges,” chief executive Adrian Tse said during an online briefing. “It has forced many people to work and shop from home. Many people are more comfortable using their mobile phones to open an account and conduct banking transactions.”

The heightened competition comes at a difficult time for the incumbent lenders, as a third wave of Covid-19 infections in Hong Kong forced dozens of them to shorten the banking hours at their branches, or temporarily shut them, to help contain the outbreak.

At the same time, they have been plagued by rising provisions for bad debt as the pandemic has caused many borrowers to fall behind with their loan repayments.

Standard Chartered set aside US$611 million in credit impairments last quarter, it said today, versus US$176 million a year earlier.

WeLab chairman Chan Ka-keung, the city’s former Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury, said the firm aims for financial inclusion by extending its 4.5 per cent promotional rates to big and small depositors alike. That, however, is good for the first 10,000 customers with up to HK$50,000 each in placements.

It is also offering a debit card for customers to withdraw cash from more than 2,000 ATM machines maintained by Jetco. The 8 per cent rebate, however, is capped at HK$3,000 worth of spending until the end of August.

  1. EXCLUSIVE: “Payments Re-Engineered” – Nigel Thacker, Silverflow and Victor Padee, Aevi in ‘The Fintech Magazine’

    The Fintech Magazine

     Read more
  2. Orchestrating Data Intelligence to Maximize Unit Margins and Corporate Velocity | payabl., Torus, Raiffeisen Bank | FF Virtual Arena #363

    Fintech TV

     Read more
  3. Fraud Trends 2026: AI Scams, Deepfakes, and Emerging Threats

    Thought Leadership

     Read more
  4. Woodforest National Bank Selects Jack Henry to Power Growth with a Modern, Integrated Platform

    Fintech

     Read more
  5. Sircon Compensation Recognized for Helping Carriers Turn Agent Compensation Into a Competitive Advantage

    Insurtech

     Read more
money2020 Europe x FFNews
More On