Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 – Virtual banking is set to boom in Hong Kong, with 28% of Hong Kong adults expected to have a digital-only account by 2025, according to new research from global financial comparison platform Finder.com.
An estimated 1.8 million adults expected to have a digital-only bank account by 2025
Results of a survey conducted in March reveal an estimated 990,000 Hong Kongese – approximately 16% of the adult population – currently have a virtual bank account, with 760,000 more (12%) planning to open one in the next 5 years.
Global fintech editor at Finder.com, Elizabeth Barry, says the Coronavirus pandemic will likely act as a catalyst for the digitisation of banking.
“With reports suggesting Hong Kong lenders have closed 20 to 30 percent of branches we can expect to see a big uptick in online transactions,” she said. “What isn’t clear yet is whether this will be a boon for virtual challenger banks or whether customers will flock back to the certainty of the big players.
“Who comes out on top will depend on how quickly virtual banks can establish operations in Hong Kong and how fast it takes entrenched players to pivot online”.
Finder conducted the survey across 13 countries to reveal digital-only banking adoption in Hong Kong is currently lower than in Singapore (20%) and Malaysia (21%) but higher than the Philippines (15%).
Of the countries included in the study Germany and Brazil have the highest percentage of adults with online-only bank accounts (28% each) and Italy the least (12%).
To see the full report, including a breakdown by age, gender and region, click here.
