ING has invested in Hong Kong-based fintech, WeLab, as the Dutch bank looks to expand its regional presence in Asia through mobile lending.

ING has invested in Hong Kong-based fintech, WeLab, as the Dutch bank looks to expand its regional presence in Asia through mobile lending.

Founded in 2013, WeLab operates Wolaidai, one of China’s largest mobile lending platforms, and WeLend.hk, Hong Kong’s leading online lending platform.

WeLab’s customer base reached 2.5 million individuals last year, sourcing a total of RMB9 billion in loan applications, and it counts the Malaysian Government’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Guangdong Technology Financial Group and CK Hutchison’s TOM Group and Sequoia Capital among its strategic investors.

The fintech’s partnership with ING Bank comes on the back of the completion of two capital fundraising rounds: a US$20 million Series A round in January, 2015, and a US$160 million Series B round earlier this month.    

“This second fundraising is eight times bigger and combines the support of a leading international financial institution [ING Bank] and government funds,” said Simon Loong, Founder and CEO of WeLab.

“It is [a] testament to the exciting potential of the WeLab business model and its transformative potential in China’s mobile lending market.”

In China, ING Bank presently offers commercial banking services to corporates and institutions and is one of the largest shareholders of Bank of Beijing.

Ralph Hamers, chief executive of ING Bank, said that the partnership demonstrated ING’s commitment to enhancing customer experience.

“The stake we have taken in WeLab proves that we are determined to transform banking to further improve the customer experience,” he said.

“We will look at the possibilities of starting a partnership with WeLab in [other] ING markets.”

According to Loong, a key priority for WeLab now will be to strengthen their credit technology research and development capabilities to help “set the standard” for the mobile lending market and fulfil what he sees as a growing “appetite” for mobile banking, particularly among millennials.

“The investment is a clear validation of our risk management and operational capabilities, both of which are critical to long-term success in the industry,” Loong said.

“Looking forward, WeLab will start collaborating with Ule.com and the Postal Savings Bank of China [this year] on internet finance initiatives. These partnerships will help to sustain WeLab’s growth momentum as it continues to focus on realising its vision of democratising finance.”