More Virtual Banks to Switch On in Hong Kong

ABOUT US

CX Tech is Caixin Global's real-time tech news portal, featuring 24-hour news, short-form analysis, and roundups from business and tech media in China.

TRENDING: Electric-Car Makers Hike Prices After China Reveals When Subsidies Will End; Kuaishou Names New Finance Chief as Losses Grow

LATEST: Kuaishou Names New Finance Chief as Losses Grow; Electric-Car Makers Hike Prices After China Reveals When Subsidies Will End; BYD Seals Another Deal to Develop Self-Driving Cars; Foldable Phones Could Kickstart China's Sluggish Smartphone Market, Analysts Say; With Eye on Robotaxis, Xpeng Ups Investment in Key Technology; Huawei’s Latest Executive Reshuffle Sees Carrier Chief Also Take Over Enterprise Group; Xiaomi Ordered to Pay India $87.8 Million of Import Taxes; Kuaishou Kicks Off Mass Layoffs as Losses Double; Xi’an Data Chief Suspended Over Covid-19 Tracing App Crashes; China Tech Giants Slapped With Fresh Round of Fines for Antitrust Violations; Tesla to Recall 200,000 Cars Sold in China; Xiaomi Dials Up High-End Appeal in China With New Phones Aimed at Apple; Chinese Automaker Chosen for Waymo’s Self-Driving Car Fleet; Kuaishou Partners With China Delivery Giant to Take On TikTok Twin Douyin; Update: Alibaba Cloud Says It Didn’t Know Severity of Bug That It Failed to Immediately Report to Regulators; Tencent Dramatically Increases Damages Claim Against Douyin; U.S. Blacklists 34 More Chinese Entities for Alleged Support to Iran; Chipmaker MediaTek Sharpens 5G Edge With New Flagship Chip; Cobalt Prices Hit Three-Year High as Covid Forces Factory Closures; Southeast Asian Tech Industry Growth Could Match China’s, Executive Says

By Wei Yiyang and Han Wei / Jan 18, 2020 07:18 AM / Business & Tech

picture

Hong Kong’s monetary authority expects three or four internet-only banks to kick off trial runs during the first quarter this year following the launch last month of the first such bank, ZA Bank Ltd., the authority said Friday.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) last year issued virtual bank licenses to eight companies to test the new services. The companies are scheduled to start pilot services within nine months after they received the licenses, according to the HKMA.

Only ZA Bank has started its trial run so far. The bank, controlled by Chinese online insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co. Ltd., began offering virtual bank services Dec. 18 to 2,000 select retail users in advance of a full rollout.

Licensed companies will miss the schedule if they can’t start trials by the end of March. The HKMA didn’t elaborate what could hinder the steps of the banks.

WeLab Bank and Standard Chartered's SC Digital Solutions have said they plan to start services early this year.

Other license winners include JD.com-backed Livi VB, Ant SME Services (Hong Kong) Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Infinium Ltd., Xiaomi Corp.-controlled Insight Fintech HK Ltd., and Ping An OneConnect Co. Ltd., a unit of Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code