From its humble beginnings as an online lender to its rise as one of Asia’s most ambitious fintechs, WeLab Group (WeLab) has carved a path few others have managed to follow.

Founded in Hong Kong by a former banker, WeLab has grown from a single-market startup into a multi-licensed digital banking player, operating in Hong Kong and Indonesia with a third licence under application in Thailand.

In just over a decade, the group has amassed 70 million users and 700 enterprise customers. It has also facilitated over US$15 billion in loans in Hong Kong, milestones that showcase its scale and staying power.

Backed by heavyweight investors, including Sequoia, Khazanah Nasional, and the International Finance Corporation, WeLab’s digital bank also achieved a pivotal milestone in early 2025: profitability. This marked a significant breakthrough, as WeLab Bank joined the rarefied group of digital banks that have managed to turn a profit.

Now, their next goal is to serve half a billion customers across the region by 2032. 

At this year’s Money20/20 Asia, Fintech News Hong Kong’s Chief Editor, Vincent Fong, sat down with WeLab’s Founder and Group CEO, Simon Loong, to walk through WeLab’s journey, including the mindset fuelling it towards growth and profitability and why regional expansion is central to its next chapter.

Keeping the Startup Mentality Alive at the Core

How does WeLab maintain a good helicopter view yet still balance the need to be in the details, Vincent asks, pointing to a challenge many businesses face as their companies grow. To this, Simon shares that having a strong team by your side definitely helps smooth things out.

Also, in every market, WeLab is structured such that it has independent management teams, all capable of running operations without Simon’s direct involvement. This, Simon explains, has allowed the company to scale, even during tough tides like the pandemic.

Yet despite the growth and his evolving role as group CEO, Simon says one thing has remained constant: a commitment to what he calls the startup mentality.

“We always remember the startup mentality. The hunger for success. The paranoia for competition. The fear for failure. I think that mentality has driven me and the team to where we are, without losing sight of the big picture.”

This mindset, he adds, keeps the team focused on exponential growth targets, like aiming for 20% year-on-year gains rather than settling for single-digit growth.

“We are still small in the overall scheme of things. If we deliver 3% to 5% YoY growth, we will always be small. Having that mentality reminds us, every day, about what we must do.”

What’s the Blueprint for a Profitable Digital Bank?

“The secret sauce is a couple of things. Firstly, it’s our relentless focus on building a profitable business model.” Simon shares.

He continues, explaining that within the digital banking space, like in retail and SME segments, there are only a handful of products that generate meaningful revenue. Traditional products like deposits and payments, he points out, tend to yield slim margins.

By focusing on online lending and digital wealth management, WeLab has concentrated its efforts on products with clear revenue models. This focus has paid off, as WeLab Bank has managed to become the third-largest personal lender in Hong Kong among all lenders, holding an impressive 16% share.

“One in six people in Hong Kong borrow (personal loans) from us,” he shares.

He added on that good risk management is also central to being profitable, and his background in risk management has been crucial in navigating this.

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WeLab’s Bold Plan: 500M Users. $100M Profit. One Decade From a digital lending startup to a pan-Asian fintech player, WeLab has set its sights on an ambitious goal: 500 million users and $100 million in profit by 2032 — here’s how they plan to achieve it. #fintech #welab #digitalbanking #AsiaFintech #fyp

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The final piece of WeLab’s profitability playbook lies in its partnership strategy. As a challenger bank, acquiring customers purely through head-to-head competition with incumbents would be one of the toughest and costliest battles to fight.

Instead, WeLab turned to strategic collaborations with aspirational brands like Apple, using these partnerships to reach premium customer segments with stronger credit profiles.

“You want to tap into that affluent or premium base, which gives you good credit and also future cross-sell opportunities for digital investment products.”

These partnerships have allowed WeLab to scale faster while creating natural pathways to cross-sell its products and solutions effectively.

The Road to 500 Million Users

WeLab’s next chapter is defined by one audacious goal: serving 500 million customers across Asia by 2032. It’s a bold leap from the company’s current 70 million users. But Simon believes the timing is just right.

The goal was announced publicly, a deliberate move to hold the group accountable.

“We want to be very explicit and public about it, so that we give ourselves the pressure to hit that target.”

The question is how to get there, though? With Asia’s sizeable market and rising appetite for digital banking, Simon sees plenty of headroom for growth. For Simon, the answer rests on two pillars.

The first is the drive to become the first truly pan-Asia digital bank, expanding beyond Hong Kong and Indonesia, securing a licence in Thailand, and looking to more markets.

“We’re looking at how to build the first pan-Asian digital bank, which is a massive opportunity that only exists now compared to when digital banks were not as popular,” he explains.

Next is WeLab’s deep investment in AI, which Simon views as the company’s differentiator to leapfrog competition and serve one step ahead of the game.

“We’re happy to share that the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited invested in us to further help us on these two courses.”

With the HKIC’s support, WeLab aims to elevate Hong Kong’s leadership in developing advanced technology in financial services. AI agents, for example, are tools that Simon believes will shift AI from simply predicting outcomes and generating insights, to executing tasks on behalf of customers.

What Else Is On The Cards for WeLab?

For a closer look at Simon’s perspective on what it really takes to run and grow a profitable fintech group, watch the full interview below on YouTube.