Being a media specialized in fintech reporting provides us with an unparalleled view of the emerging trends and players in the space.
After tracking the performance and announcements from hundreds of Hong Kong based fintech companies, here are (in our view) the top 10 fintech companies operating in Hong Kong in 2024.
Animoca Brands | Founded 2014
Founded in 2014, Animoca Brands is a leader in the Web3 space, recognized as a Deloitte Tech Fast winner, a Fortune Crypto 40 company, and one of the Financial Times’ High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2023. The company leverages blockchain to deliver digital property rights to consumers around the world to help to establish the open metaverse.
Animoca Brands develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including original games such as The Sandbox, PHANTOM GALAXIES™, Life Beyond, and Crazy Defense Heroes, and products utilizing popular intellectual properties (IPs) from the worlds of sports and entertainment, such as The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Formula E.
Animoca Brands is one of the most active investors in Web3, with a portfolio of over 450 Web3 investments, both directly and through Animoca Ventures. Its subsidiary and flagship product, The Sandbox, is an immersive metaverse platform in which users play, create, and monetize unique experiences alongside their favorite brands, IPs, and celebrities across gaming, entertainment, music, art, and other aspects of culture. The platform leverages Web3 technologies to fully enable end-user creation and creator economies, disrupting existing platforms by providing both players and creators with true ownership of their assets, creations, and rewards in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Over 400 partners have joined The Sandbox, including Warner Music Group, Gucci, Ubisoft, Paris Hilton, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Lacoste, Steve Aoki, The Smurfs, and many more. The platform recently celebrated the milestone of 1,000 user-generated experiences live-published on its virtual map, with over 5.7 million users accounts connected to crypto wallets.
Bowtie | Founded 2017
Bowtie Life Insurance Company is an authorized life insurance company and Hong Kong’s first virtual insurer. The company’s vision is to bridge the medical protection gap and transform the way people access healthcare in Hong Kong. By combining modern technology and medical expertise, Bowtie offers a commission-free and convenient online platform for customers to quote, apply, and claim for medical insurance plans anytime, anywhere.
Bowtie, which is backed by notable investors including Sun Life Financial and Mitsui and Co, has raised more than HK$680 million (US$87.1 million) and provided over HK$90 billion (US$11.5 billion) of insured value to families. The company claims a 30% market share in the direct sales channel of the insurance industry, and says it ranked number one in Hong Kong’s direct channel for H1 2023.
The growth of Bowtie is attributed to the company’s competitive digital insurance and health offerings, and it’s supported by repeat purchases from existing customers, with critical illness products experiencing over 100% growth between 2022 and 2023. Additionally, Bowtie has made significant strides in group medical insurance and wellness solutions, serving more than 500 small and medium-sized enterprises and technology-driven companies across various industries, including fintech, telecommunications, and airlines.
Bowtie completed a US$34.9 million Series B2 funding round in September 2023, which it said it would use to further expand its operations and technologies.
Futu Holdings | Founded 2012
Futu Holdings is an advanced technology company transforming the investing experience by offering fully digitalized financial services.
Through its proprietary digital platforms, Futubull and moomoo, Futu Holdings provides a full range of investment services, including trade execution and clearing, margin financing and securities lending, and wealth management. Additionally, the company has embedded social media tools to create a network centered around its users and provide connectivity to users, investors, companies, analysts, media and key opinion leaders. It also delivers corporate services, including initial public offering (IPO) distribution, investor relations, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) solution services.
In May 2024, Futu Holdings announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024. The company reported significant growth, with the total number of paying clients increasing by 23.5% YoY to reach 1,887,270. Client assets saw an 11.2% YoY increase, totaling HK$517.9 billion (US$66.4 billion) in Hong Kong, with daily average client assets at HK$480 billion (US$61.5 billion), marking a 6% increase from the same period in the previous year. Total revenues were HK$2.6 billion (US$331.3 million) in H1 2024, representing a YoY 3.7% increase.
HashKey | Founded 2018
Established in 2018, HashKey Group is a leading end-to-end digital asset financial services group in Asia. The group operates within regulatory frameworks that uphold the highest compliance standards, catering to retail investors, large institutions, family offices, funds, and professional and accredited investors.
HashKey Group’s core businesses encompass various sectors of the digital asset industry. These include HashKey Exchange, a licensed virtual asset exchange regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC); HashKey Capital, a global asset manager investing exclusively in blockchain technology and digital assets; HashKey Cloud, a leading provider of global Web3 infrastructure; HashKey Global, a global digital asset exchange licensed under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 (DABA); and HashKey Tokenisation, a tokenization services provider.
In January 2024, HashKey Group completed a Series A financing round, raising nearly US$100 million at a pre-money valuation exceeding US$1.2 billion. The raised capital is intended to solidify HashKey’s Web3 ecosystem, accelerate product diversification of its licensed business in Hong Kong, and drive the group’s compliant and innovative development globally.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, HashKey Group also has operations in Singapore, Japan, and Bermuda.
OneDegree Hong Kong | Founded 2016
Founded in 2016, OneDegree is a pioneering insurance company in Hong Kong that leverages technology to transform the industry. As one of the first recipients of a virtual insurance license in Hong Kong, OneDegree aims to make insurance simple and transparent, ensuring it serves its fundamental purpose of protecting its customers against life’s risks.
OneDegree provides motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, pet insurance, health insurance and business insurance, among other coverage. The company was Hong Kong’s highest-grossing virtual insurer in 2023, with gross written premiums growing by 59% year-over-year (YoY) to exceed HK$180 million (US$23.1 million). This success marks the second consecutive year OneDegree has led among Hong Kong’s four digital insurers.
OneDegree secured a US$55 million Series B financing round in June 2023 to expand its digital assets insurance business and insurtech offerings globally, broaden its product offering, and deepen market penetration of its direct-to-consumer insurance products.
OSL Digital Securities | Founded 2018
OSL Digital Securities Limited is a leading digital asset platform based in Hong Kong. It is the first platform to be licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for dealing in securities and providing automated trading services
OSL offers various services, including brokerage, custody, exchange, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. OSL completed an early-stage venture capital funding round on 21 February 2020 and is backed by BC Technology Group, which has invested heavily in the platform.
The company has also raised funds through share placements, amounting to approximately HK$1.24 billion.
Qupital | Founded 2016
Qupital is a Hong Kong-based fintech company that specializes in data-driven financing, primarily serving US and Europe-facing merchants in China selling on platforms like Amazon, eBay, Shopee, Lazada, as well as domestic merchants in China on JD.com, Tmall and Pinduoduo etc.
Qupital focuses on supply chain financing solutions and employs a digitalized financing process using big data and proprietary credit assessment models to provide tailored financing solutions. The platform connects private investors with e-commerce merchants seeking capital, providing investors with attractive investment opportunities while allowing small businesses to raise working capital in a fast and efficient manner.
Since its inception in 2016, Qupital has disbursed over US$2 billion while maintaining a remarkably low default rate of below 0.1%, establishing the company as the pioneer of e-commerce loans securitization in Asia.
The company has garnered significant backing from prominent investors, including Alibaba, Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund and the Hong Kong government. These endorsements highlight Qupital’s robust business model and its potential for substantial growth and impact in the e-commerce financing sector.
Qupital is headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Statrys | Founded 2018
Established in 2018, Statrys is a leading fintech company providing a wide range of payment solutions for SMEs across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The company focuses on regulatory compliance, personalized customer support, and competitive foreign exchange (FX) rates, establishing itself as a go-to payment solution for SMEs.
Statrys provides an alternative to traditional banking by offering business accounts that include several advantageous features. One of the key features is multi-currency accounts, which enable businesses to hold and manage funds in various currencies. This is particularly useful for facilitating international trade and reducing currency conversion costs.
In addition to multi-currency accounts, Statrys provides payment solutions that allow businesses to make and receive payments globally. These solutions often come with lower fees and faster processing times compared to traditional banks.
In 2022, Statrys expanded its services to include company incorporation and invoice management, further solidifying its commitment to offering comprehensive solutions for SMEs. In 2023, Statrys launched its company registration service in Singapore. The company claims more than 3,500 customers.
Statrys now plans to expand its services in the Chinese market. The company is also exploring options to enhance its current offerings of physical and virtual payment cards in HKD.
WeLab Holdings | Founded 2013
WeLab Holdings provides a wide range of digital financial services in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Indonesia. The company serves around 60 million individual users and over 700 enterprise customers and claims it has facilitated over US$12 billion in loans. In Hong Kong, WeLab has established itself as the preferred fintech partner among tech-savvy young adults, with one in 4.3 using its services.
WeLab’ product portfolio includes WeLend, Hong Kong’s largest pure online consumer lending platform; WeLab Bank, a virtual bank in Hong Kong; and Subscribe+ for Apple Products, an innovative payment method in Hong Kong. Additionally, WeLab operates Bank Saqu, its second digital bank in Asia located in Indonesia, and WeLab Digital, Mainland China’s third-largest loan facilitation platform. Other offerings include Tianmian Tech, a business-to-business (B2B) credit technology solution, Wallet GuGu, a smart wallet for payments and lifestyle needs, and Maucash, a consumer lending platform in Indonesia developed in collaboration with Astra International.
WeLab leverages cutting-edge technology, including proprietary risk management systems, patented privacy computing techniques, and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. These technologies enable the company to provide mobile-based consumer financing solutions and digital banking services to individuals, as well as technology solutions to enterprises.
WeLab is backed by the most renowned investors including Allianz, the 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.
ZA Bank | Founded 2017
ZA Bank, licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in 2019, is one of the first batch of virtual banks in Hong Kong. Officially launching its services to the public on March 24, 2020, ZA Bank quickly established itself as the first fully operational virtual bank in the region.
ZA Bank provides a range of banking services including multi-currency time deposit accounts, 24×7 banking services, the physical ZA Card, crypto conversions, and fund investment. In 2021, the bank expanded its offering by launching business banking to provide innovative financial solutions to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
As of June 30, 2023, ZA Bank had attracted 700,000 users, making it the largest virtual bank in Hong Kong by user base. The bank’s excellence was recognized with the “Virtual Bank of the Year – Consumer (Hong Kong)” award at The Asset Triple A Digital Awards 2023.
ZA Bank is a subsidiary of ZhongAn Technologies International Group (ZA International). ZA International was established in Hong Kong in December 2017, by ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, an online-only insurtech company in mainland China, to explore international business development, collaboration and investment opportunities in the area of fintech and insurtech in overseas markets.
Other resources you might be interested in:
Curious about what are the top fintech startups are in other Asian countries? Here’s a handy guide looking at the top fintech startups in Asia by country
