ZA Bank has announced that it aims to streamline the financial management experience with a “fixed-rate” tax loan at a “guaranteed 1.58% APR.”
Driven by the motto of “Be the Game Changer”, Hong Kong’s virtual banking platform, ZA Bank, has introduced another tax loan with a fixed annualized percentage rate to offer users a “simple” and “straightforward” financial management experience.
Starting from today until December 31, 2021, users may take advantage of a guaranteed APR of 1.58% “upon successful application for the tax loan with an invitation code and drawdown of a loan amount of HKD 200,000 or above with a tenor of 6 to 36 months.”
Devon Sin, Co-Head of Retail Banking at ZA Bank, stated:
“Being the ‘Game Changer’ means we are dedicated to creating the best experience for our users, even for just a basic banking product. As one of the evergreen products at ZA Bank, our tax loan has registered over 40,000 applications since its debut. In order to address the growing demand for this offering, we have brought a major upgrade to this current tax loan. Alongside its landmark ‘fixed APR’ and seamless, fully-digital experience, we have offered an attractive pricing of 1.58% to provide users with a simple, clear and practical solution for financial planning. We hope this product can refresh the sophisticated image of traditional loan products.”
ZA Bank will introduce two “special” offers during this time period (mentioned above):
- For new users: Each user can “get an HKD 400 cash reward upon successful account opening during the loan application process and drawdown of any amount;”
- For existing users: By referring a friend “to successfully draw down a Tax Loan or Card Statement Instalment Program of HKD 50,000 or above with an invitation code from an existing user, the referrer can get a cash reward as follows:”
(Note: for more details on these rates and other announcements, check here.)
The final approval result is “based on ZA Bank’s decision upon a holistic review of an application, together with a user’s final drawdown amount and repayment period,” the announcement clarified.
ZA Bank Limited, licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on March 27 2019, is one of the first batch of digital banks in Hong Kong. On March 24, 2020, ZA Bank officially launched “its services to the public, making it the first fully-operating virtual bank in Hong Kong.”
On March 22, 2021, ZA Bank officially “launched Business Banking to deliver an innovative banking experience to local small and medium-sized enterprises.”
ZA Bank was established by ZhongAn Technologies International Group Ltd. With its “Community-Driven” approach, ZA Bank “encourages users to directly contribute to its product development and design processes, helping the bank create innovative services that better serve the needs of Hong Kong customers.”
Based on market data, Hong Kong’s virtual banks “combined have attracted 420,000 users as of 31 December 2020, with HKD 15 billion of deposits and HKD 1 billion of loans.”
ZA Bank has managed to acquire 220,000+ users, personal deposits (HKD 6 billion), and loan amounts (HKD 650 million).
ZA International was established in Hong Kong in December 2017, by ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co., Ltd, an online-only Insurtech based in China, to “explore international business development, collaboration and investment opportunities in the area of fintech and insurtech in overseas markets.”