Digital & Technology

Hong Kong Ant Bank officially Opens

Ant Group has announced that the Hong Kong Ant Bank has officially opened, with the next step said to be cooperation with AlipayHK to expand the use of virtual banking technology in Hong Kong.

The newly-opened Hong Kong Ant Bank will offer Hong Kong customers 24/7 access to electronic banking services, Ant Group said in a press release.

Customers can download the Ant Bank (Hong Kong) app, and use their Hong Kong permanent resident ID to pass KYC verification checks, and as such avoid the need to travel into a bank branch. New accounts can be opened in as little as three minutes, and users will then be able to use local transfer services and the ‘Deposit Bao’ current savings account function, offering an annual interest rate of up to 2.5%.

Through cooperation with AlipayHK, Ant Bank has said that it is expected to realise remote bank account opening directly through the AlipayHK electronic wallet, which will allow AlipayHK’s two million users to directly transfer money and spend online at more than 50,000 Hong Kong merchants, further deepening the Hong Kong virtual banking offering pool.

According to the press release, there is no other initiative which links a digital payments solution with a virtual bank offering in Hong Kong. The collaboration will also allow Ant Bank Hong Kong to roll out solutions supporting small, medium and micro enterprises.

Wang Lan, CEO, Hong Kong, Ant Bank, reports that the next stage is to utilise e-commerce in the Alibaba economy as a pilot service for small and medium enterprises and merchants, and actively develop small and micro financial services including digital trade financing.

Since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued the first batch of eight virtual bank licenses in March 2019, virtual banks have been opened in Hong Kong. As early as May 2019, Ant Bank (Hong Kong) obtained a virtual banking license issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The bank aims to use financial technology innovation to bring safer, more transparent and more convenient digital inclusive services to ordinary users and small and micro businesses in Hong Kong, reports the firm.