Asia is today considered one of the fastest growing regions in relation to the Fintech and neobanking industry. Today, China, South Korea and Japan are considered market leaders.
Therefore, PaySpace Magazine I would love to discuss probably the most successful neobanks within the region.
1.WeBank
WeBank is generally known as the primary digital-only private bank in China. It was founded in early 2015 by web giant Tencent. Tencent is China’s largest messaging and social networking company and the operator of WeChat.
WeBank provides consumer banking services through digital channels, in addition to micro-credit and other lending products.
WeBank’s foremost shareholders also include the investment holding Shenzhen Liye Group and Shenzhen Baiyeyuan Investment, the parent company of Joincare Pharmaceutical Group Industry Co., Ltd. listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
2. MYbank (China)
In 2015, Alibaba launched MYbank, a web-based bank geared toward the Chinese market. MYbank focuses on consumers and small and medium-sized businesses and uses credit data from e-commerce giant AliPay to conduct credit evaluation.
The bank launched with a mission to “provide inclusive and modern financial solutions to individuals in each urban and rural areas, in addition to small and micro enterprises.”
MYbank is 100% digital, branchless and serves customers 24 hours a day.
3. Digital bank
Mobile-only Digibank was launched by DBS Bank, considered one of the leading financial institutions in Singapore.
The DBS Digibank app is designed to make banking simpler, smarter and faster for purchasers. Digibank offers 24/7 customer support through an AI-powered virtual assistant. Indian officials called the debut “Whatsapp banking’s moment.” Customers can open an account at any of 500 chosen cafes using their fingerprint and biometric ID card.
4. Timo (Vietnam)
Timo is the primary digital bank in Vietnam, operating since January 2016. Through a partnership with local bank VP Bank, Timo provides a comprehensive set of tools to support their financial needs together with core banking services. Users can easily and conveniently manage their bank accounts via the Timo mobile app or send money to friends using their phone number.
First launched in Ho Chi Minh City in early 2016, Timo expanded to Hanoi later that 12 months. In March 2017, Timo began offering insurance products through a partnership with Sun Life Vietnam.
Vietnam’s first digital bank Timo – which implies “time is money” – has a rapidly growing customer base, highlighting Vietnam’s millennial generation’s appetite for all things mobile. Their story reminds us of successful US digital-only banks like Moven and Simple.
5. Jibun Bank (Japan)
Founded in 2008, Jibun Bank is a mobile-only bank that has grown to grow to be considered one of the biggest and most profitable mobile banks in Japan. The bank offers business banking and payment services. Payments are made via three channels: mobile, online and telephone.
Jibun Bank is a three way partnership between Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and native telecommunications company KDDI. In the primary 12 months of its existence, the bank acquired over 500,000 latest customers. According to Asian Banker, in 2015, Jibun Bank recorded the very best variety of mobile banking accounts in Japan – 2 million – representing a compound annual growth of 11.15%.
6. Jenius (Indonesia)
Jenius is a mobile banking channel created by Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN) and launched in 2016. Jenius is just not a bank per se, but quite a digital banking platform provided by the bank. Users will need to have a checking account with BTPN before they’ll use Jenius.
Jenius’ unique features include $Cashtag, which enables peer-to-peer money transfers. Users can even personalize their bank accounts. Another unique feature is One Touch, which authenticates account owners based on their fingerprints. Jenius users can even send and request money amongst themselves.
7. K Bank (Korea)
K Bank was launched in April 2017, making it the primary digital-only bank in South Korea. The bank, which is headed by domestic telecommunications giant KT Corp and 20 other corporations, allows customers to do every part from opening a checking account to applying for a loan via their smartphone. The kit comes with a debit card that enables users to withdraw money at over 11,000 ATMs across the country.
K Bank offers cheaper loans to borrowers who’ve a very good debt repayment history but are considered by other lenders to have a low credit standing. It uses KT Corp’s Big Data system for deeper evaluation of customer credit rankings.
8. Cocoa Bank (Korea)
Kakao Bank is a web-based bank that was founded in January 2016 but launched in June 2017.
Kakao Bank, operated by South Korea’s largest mobile communications services provider Kakao Corp., has received approval from the Financial Services Commission (FSC), becoming the second entity to launch after K Bank began offering services in April 2017.
Yun Hoyoung, co-director of the bank, said that considered one of Kakao Bank’s distinctive offers is remittances abroad. He also considered the bank’s reference to Kakao Talk, which is utilized by roughly 40 million users, as a noticeable advantage. The Kakao Bank fast money transfer service is operated based on the Kakao Talk friends list. Messaging app users will give you the option to simply and conveniently send money to a contact on Kakao Talk.
Kakao Bank has nine shareholders, including Korea Investment Holdings Co., KB Kookmin Bank, Netmarble Games Corp. and eBay Inc.
Source: Payspacemagazine.com
