SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WeBank, the first privately-owned and digital-only bank in China, has won three prizes at The Asian Banker Awards. The Company won "The Best Digital Bank in Asia Pacific" and "The Best Blockchain Initiative, Application or Programme" for the second consecutive year, and also won "The Best Digital Bank in China" for the second time. The Asian Banker is the region's most authoritative platform for strategic business information for the financial services community.
The Asian Banker Awards is one of the most prestigious awards in the industry covering the full spectrum of topics and areas that constitute the financial services. It assesses new players such as payments companies, marketplace platforms, and alternative financial services platforms that utilise fintech. WeBank was recognised for its vision, execution and market leading propositions that make a real impact in the digital banking space and to local customers in an ever-transforming industry.
Huiya Yao, Head of Fintech Innovation of WeBank, said: "In the digital age, the Internet has broadened the scope of possibilities in the banking business. Embracing the concept of 'Open Banking', WeBank will continue to improve its core technological competitiveness and develop the advantages in resources and capability. Eventually, we are working to achieve a win-win situation in which industry and finance integrate in a more open ecosystem."
The awards in "The Best Digital Bank in Asia Pacific" and "The Best Digital Bank in China" categories show that WeBank has been recognised by the industry as a driving force in fintech and is viewed as one of the world's leading digital banks. Furthermore, its win in "The Best Blockchain Initiative, Application or Programme" category for the second consecutive year highlights WeBank's technological strengths and practical achievements in the field of blockchain.
With the vision "Connect and Empower with Fintech", WeBank has launched a series of inclusive financial products for individual customers and micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises (MSME) in China, including Weilidai, Weiyedai, Weichedai, etc. WeBank leads the industry in core technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing, and big data. As the first commercial bank to obtain the national high-tech enterprise certification in China, WeBank has already accumulated nearly 1,100 patent applications.
Since its launch in 2014, WeBank has used fintech to actively explore new models and methods for inclusive finance to serve the real economy and achieve excellent results. In terms of blockchain, FISCO BCOS, an open-source platform leveraging blockchain technology initiated by WeBank, brings together tens of thousands of community members, and is one of the largest and most active locally developed open-source ecosystems on a consortium blockchain.
In addition to applications in business scenarios, WeBank has also leveraged its blockchain technology for social governance. On June 5th, 2020 WeBank released the first white paper on the social governance framework based on blockchain technology, called MERITS (Measurable Ethics: Rating, Incentivization, Tracking & Supervision Framework), which aims to help multiple participants accomplish the mission of technology-enabled promotion of good deeds. WeBank and its partners jointly announced they will carry out technical cooperation for the development of the Green Mobility Inclusive Platform using blockchain.
In today's banking space, the rise of tech-savvy consumers means there are more opportunities for banks to deliver new innovations, and Asia's fintech innovators are among the best in the world. According to McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, digital payments in China account for approximately 99% of the country's non cash transaction volume and 45% of digital payments worldwide. Digital banks leverage new technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and big data to provide personalized offerings. What's more, the rise of ecosystems that combine banking and payments for B2B, B2C, and B2B2C is another area where Asia is at the forefront. Digital banks are also building digital platforms that integrate financial services for individuals and MSMEs.
About WeBank
WeBank Co., Ltd. ("WeBank") is the first privately-owned and digital-only bank in China. Launched in 2014, backed by Tencent as the biggest shareholder (30%), WeBank provides more convenient financial services to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the general public. It is one of the top 100 banks in China, ranking first among privately-owned banks.
In 2019, Moody's and Standard & Poor's gave WeBank "A3" and "BBB+" ratings respectively, and WeBank has been called "the world's leading digital bank" by Forrester.
