Hong Kong Banks, Meet the 21st Century

Ironically, the city that should have been first to be swept up by China’s fintech revolution is still a picture of old-world conservatism. Not for long, though. Hong Kong, whose last big innovation in retail payments is as old as the former British colony’s 1997 handover to China, is on the cusp of big change.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s revised May 30 guidelines for online-only banks will lead to the first licenses being issued by the end of this year. More than 50 parties, including the likes of homegrown fintech players such as WeLab Ltd., backed by billionaire Li Ka-shing, have evinced interest, even though the minimum capital requirement has been set at a not-insignificant HK$300 million ($38 million). And these will have to be real business plans, marrying traditional risk management with technology; concepts alone won’t fly, the HKMA has told applicants.