The pungent smell of fried squid on sticks wafts into the chill humid air of Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district. Here, in a nondescript of?fice building alongside traditional Chinese medicine shops selling deer horn and dried caterpillar, WeLabco-founder Simon Loong hopes to play a significant role in dragging Hong Kong’s retail lending sector into the digital era.

The target market is small to midsized borrowers, who have traditionally had few sources from which to obtain funds conveniently and affordably in Hong Kong. Even online applications to commercial banks can involve a branch visit, while micro financing companies, which lend to low-income consumers, charge high rates to compensate for the inevitably less rigorous credit checks and higher default rates.

WeLab aims to be faster, cheaper and more convenient. “Internet finance is about providing efficient alternatives,” rather than identifying “new needs”, says Mr Loong. It has particular users in mind: “We design our product for tech-savvy young consumers.” These are people who want to avoid having to go to a bank branch and to avoid being subjected to cross-selling.