WeLab Bank’s full-digital solution disbursed over HK$61m for the H.S. Chau Foundation, Savings of 90% per person admin costs compared to past programs
12 Dec 2024
12 December 2024, Hong Kong — Hong Kong's most innovative digital bank, WeLab Bank, recently served as the official digital settlement bank for the H.S. Chau Foundation’s (“Foundation”) “Dear Girlfriends” subsidy program (the “Program”). Leveraging the Bank’s end-to-end digital settlement solutions, a total of HK$ 61,564,800 in subsidies was disbursed to 18,656 full-time female students preparing for the 2025 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examinations. These students came from 354 government and subsidized secondary schools across Hong Kong. The initiative has successfully concluded, having empowered the Foundation to deliver subsidies more efficiently through a seamless user experience, alleviating the financial burdens on students’ families, allowing the students to focus on achieving their educational goals.Reimagining Subsidy Distribution through Fintech Innovation, Significantly Reducing Administrative CostsWeLab Bank has demonstrated its commitment to corporate social responsibility by participating for the first time in a city-wide, large-scale subsidy distribution initiative. WeLab Bank created a dedicated website for this Program, offering an innovative end-to-end digital user experience. WeLab Bank seamlessly distributed subsidies using the interbank digital settlements and through the Faster Payment System (FPS), directly connecting to students’ bank accounts and stored-value facilities (such as e-wallets). This transformed the subsidy disbursement process, eliminating the traditional challenges of solely relying on bank accounts and manual handling of checks, particularly supporting beneficiaries who often rely on e-wallets for daily transactions. This change streamlined operations and saved nearly 80% in costs. Calculated per beneficiary, administrative costs were largely reduced by about 90% compared to previous large disbursement programs, resulting in significant improvements in resource utilization and cost efficiency. Following the completion of the redemption process, the website will officially close on 31 December 2024.Survey of 3,000 Students: 94% Recognized Subsidy’s Impact on Future Learning, 95% Satisfied with Positive User ExperienceThe Foundation surveyed around 3,000 beneficiary students, and found that the program has delivered positive outcomes. Survey results revealed that 94% believed the subsidy would aid their future academic pursuits, with 95% noting that examination fees posed a meaningful financial burden on their families. Additionally, 95% were satisfied with the fully digitalized subsidy distribution process, with around half extending an "excellent” rating. These findings highlight the success in enhancing user experience through digital innovation, supporting the Foundation’s objectives of financial alleviation to allow for focus on educational development.Seamless, Efficient and Secure Digital ExperienceThe digital distribution process was designed for simplicity, efficiency and security, allowing beneficiaries to complete registration within two minutes by scanning a unique QR code. This not only mitigated security risks associated with manual data handling but also facilitated the distribution in a paperless manner to students in need across Hong Kong, but in a more efficient manner and lower costs. Data shows that nearly 60% of students redeemed their subsidies in the evening, reflecting their financial management habits during leisure time; while over 60% claimed their subsidies within 48 hours from receiving the QR code, indicating their preference for quick access to funds for educational purposes.Committed to using Fintech to Drive Positive Social ImpactsWeLab Bank Chief Executive Tat Lee stated, “WeLab Bank has always embraced an innovative spirit, dedicate to leveraging fintech to deliver positive impact to society. The successful implementation of this seamless and efficient city-wide subsidy distribution experience was achieved within a remarkably short period through the integration of the Faster Payment System (FPS), introduced by Hong Kong Monetary Authority, as the program’s core payment infrastructure. We look forward to collaborating with more organizations and institutions to foster cross-sector synergies, and fulfil our corporate social responsibility vision, creating lasting value and meaningful impact for the community.”---- END ----About WeLab BankWelab Bank Limited (“WeLab Bank” or the “Bank”) is the most innovative company named by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Founded by a team of financial and technology experts, WeLab Bank’s mission is to understand customers’ needs and design a personalized, intelligent banking experience that helps them manage, save and grow their money. WeLab Bank represents a 100% digital banking experience that is simple, intuitive, and built around our customers. It focuses on the powerful mobile app and multiple intelligent banking services, and delivers an innovative banking experience through partnering with reputable brands including Allianz Global Investors, Tesla and Apple Authorized Resellers.WeLab Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of WeLab Holdings Limited (“WeLab”), a leading pan-Asian fintech platform. WeLab provides a wide range of digital financial services with leading positions in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Indonesia, with over 60 million individual users and over 700 enterprise customers.WeLab is backed by the most renowned investors including Allianz, International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group), Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, CK Hutchison’s TOM Group, and Sequoia Capital.To learn more, please visit www.welab.bank and www.welab.co. Follow WeLab Bank on Instagram: welab.bank.Media enquiry:WeLab Bank Communications DepartmentEmail: [email protected]