Hong Kong – With the rise in popularity of virtual banks such as Ant Bank, ZA Bank, and Mox Bank in Hong Kong, data company Vpon has recently published a report on the current state of virtual banks in Hong Kong, how they strategize their marketing strategies, and what traditional financial institutions can learn from them.
In the report, Vpon noted that virtual banks have a greater tendency to spark immediate gimmicks to promote their services through promotional campaigns. ZA Bank was the first to offer a promotional package upon Government’s Cash Payout Scheme to attract users, which resulted in a 500% growth rate of new installs.
Fusion Bank, on the other hand, collaborated with a TV channel by sponsoring digital red packets and cash coupons worth over HK$20M that has resulted in an 1800% increase in growth. Meanwhile, Mox Bank leveraged strategic cooperation and became the first virtual bank in Hong Kong to launch credit on card service, aiming to turn loss into profit as a mid-to-long-term market strategy.
In addition, Vpon also noted that virtual banks have a pattern of ‘go viral, go deep’ in their marketing strategy, wherein they maintain a sustainable install rate and retain loyal users, and then mastering Big Data to understand their current customers and uncover their potential customers.
Demographic-wise, the report noted that the larger demographic of virtual bank users in Hong Kong are 69% male and 31% female, and are prevalent in Hong Kong’s residential areas such as the Southern District and Tai Po District.
Virtual banks tend to be more popular among the younger generation. Zealous Youth and ‘digital learners’ ranked first and second respectively, as they can be seen as more digitized and keen on exploring new technology. Meanwhile, traditional bank users are usually retail lovers and automotive enthusiasts, and their consumption hinges more on life utilities. Besides, they also tend to be more finance-oriented and show interest in other banking and finance services.
With the large majority of virtual bank users being tech-savvy, they mainly engage in toys and games and electronic gadgets ads. In addition, they show interest in food and drinks. Traditional bank users, meanwhile, are more interested in retail and automotive-related ads. They also engage in house care products and tend to fall in cosmetics-related ads.
In terms of mobile usage, virtual bank users are mainly concentrated in morning to lunch hours during weekdays. Not surprisingly, 24/7 operation hours are also a possible reason for the midnight activeness of virtual bank users. On the other hand, traditional bank users are generally more active in the early morning till the end of the lunch hours during weekdays. Comparatively, the usage rate is lower during weekends due to limited office hours for offline customer service.
Despite the challenging business environment, the report projected an impressive growth of the virtual banking sector over the past year by launching various initiatives for brand building to lure potential customers. Some of them have acted in concert with different market pre-conditions and government benefits to formulate specific offerings, such as account opening rewards, high deposit interest rate and maximum cashback to attract new customers.
