Special interviews
Written by: Yao Zhuoran
2021-06-11 07:30
Last update date: 2021-06-11 07:30
At present, virtual banks are all attracting customers by "burning money". All 8 virtual banks recorded losses last year. When WeLab founder and group chief executive Long Peizhi accepted an interview with "Hong Kong 01" and "Giant", he did not agree that the loss was " "Burn money", we must carry out publicity and promotion activities in the early stage of opening to start the brand. "This is not called "burning money", but called "investment"!"
WeLab Bank started its trial operation in April last year and opened in July. It has been roughly close to one year. Last year, the scale of customer deposits was 1.11 billion yuan, the fourth largest in Hong Kong, but its loss expanded to nearly 290 million yuan.
He pointed out, “Virtual banking is actually the company’s fourth commercial sector. The commercial sector in the past often broke-even after three to four years. The first few months were in the exploratory stage. I know the direction."
He pointed out that investment is a necessary business activity, and the focus is to bring customers and customers to the platform, so as to cross-sell them and increase customer loyalty.
All eight virtual banks recorded losses last year. WeLab Bank had 1.11 billion yuan in customer deposits last year, but its losses expanded to nearly 290 million yuan.
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100,000 users in the middle of the year also came to open an account at the age of 83
WeLab Bank has a good ability to attract customers. The company previously predicted that the number of users will exceed 100,000 in the middle of this year.
Finally, the company announced on June 7 that it had achieved its goal, and at the same time expected to double the number of customers to 200,000 by the end of this year, that is, a five-fold increase year-on-year.
The company promoted a number of business developments this year, including raising the interest rate on three-month time deposits to 1%, and at the same time, it launched a new personal loan product in mid-May this year.
Long Peizhi said that the company's user growth momentum is good, and the market acceptance is getting higher and higher. "Virtual banks operate 24 hours a day. Half of the users apply for account opening during non-bank working hours. This proves that virtual banks cater to users' lives. Basically, there is no time limit for customers to use the bank."
He also pointed out that customer activity is high, of which about 20% to 25% are daily active users.
In addition, nearly 80% of customers use 2 or more products, and each customer uses it 150 times a month on average.
The age of customers is also very wide. "An 83-year-old customer completed the account opening in a few minutes." It can be seen that financial technology has penetrated into all age groups.
Long Peizhi pointed out that virtual banks operate 24 hours a day, and half of users apply for account opening during non-traditional bank working hours, proving that virtual banks cater to users' lifestyles.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Aiming to make Hong Kong a virtual silver base to enter the Southeast Asian market
WeLab's entire group has a total of nearly 50 million users and more than 600 corporate customers in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Indonesia.
"As the only virtual bank produced in Hong Kong, we hope that WeLab Bank can become a Hong Kong brand way to go out and develop the Southeast Asian market. The market has 400 million users, and nearly 70% of the needs of the bank have not been met. Therefore, the funds obtained from the previous financing will also be used for this development."
Long Peizhi pointed out that relying on the experience of WeLend and WeLab Bank, the two obtained relevant licenses earlier than the local financial development process, then Hong Kong's business model, standards and technology can be copied to Southeast Asia, and that this is the company's advantage.
As for Alibaba (9988) and Tencent (0700), they are also actively developing the Southeast Asian market. Long Peizhi pointed out that Alibaba mainly enters the market through e-commerce and payment, and Tencent enters the market through equity investment, so there is less chance of encountering the two .
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In addition, WeLab introduced Allianz X, the digital investment arm of Allianz, in March, and received US$75 million (approximately HK$600 million) in investment.
The two parties have also reached a strategic partnership, and currently plan to jointly develop new wealth management technology solutions, including the launch of intelligent financial advisory services through virtual banks, which are expected to be launched by the end of this year.
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