Simon Loong

Founder & Group CEO, WeLab

 

The founder of WeLab is on a mission to ensure access to financial services for everyone
Simon Loong
Sponsored By
HSBC

In 2013, Simon Loong co-founded fintech company WeLab, with the goal of using technology to solve the issue of financial inclusion. The only homegrown company to have been granted a virtual banking licence in Hong Kong from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, WeLab has more than 50 million customers across the city, mainland China, and Indonesia, as well as over 700 enterprise customers.

Loong believes, with technology, everyone should be able to access financial services, regardless of their family background or income. “Financial freedom improves people’s lives. So we need to help people to get access—cheap, efficient access—to financial services,” Loong says. “What is stopping people from getting it right now is the cost. For example, if you live in a remote area, there is a cost as you need to travel somewhere. In Hong Kong’s case, the cost to serve a customer [due to rent and staff salaries] is so high, so traditional banks always target high net worth individuals. But if the cost to provide fair and efficient financial services is zero, then anyone can get it ... And technology can be the solution to that.”

In September 2022, WeLab announced the completion of the acquisition of an Indonesian commercial bank, PT Bank Jasa Jakarta (BJJ), together with PT Astra International Tbk (Astra), one of Indonesia’s largest public companies, in Southeast Asia’s largest digital finance acquisition of the year. Three months earlier, the company celebrated becoming Asia’s first purely digital bank to launch a digital wealth advisory solution with the rollout of GoWealth, combining the fintech strength of WeLab Bank with the investment expertise of Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) in a landmark collaboration.

As for the legacy Loong hopes he and WeLab will leave? “Impact. The impact of how the technology of better financial services can improve people’s lives on a large scale. We want everyone to be able to improve their lives. To achieve their aspirations, to achieve their dreams.”

Before founding WeLab in 2013, Simon spent 15 years in the retail banking divisions of Citibank and Standard Chartered. Simon has a Master of Science in Management (MSM) from Stanford Graduate School of Business and is a Fellow of Certified Public Accountant (Australia).

Did You Know?


The World Bank’s mission is to eradicate poverty. International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is a shareholder in WeLab as they support the company’s mission of using technology to solve financial inclusion

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