Mr. Akihiro Nagahara, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (Middle) announced that set up a FinTech and Innovation Department, pledging to put more resources into developing related businesses that match future market and technology trends.
Mr. Stephen Lo, Executive Director and Chief Finance Officer (Left), Mr. Akihiro Nagahara, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (Middle) and Mr. Li Kwong Yan, General Manager (Right)
24 JAN 2019
Sets up FinTech and Innovation Department to Actively Develop and Enhance Future Loan Services
Local personal loan market leader United Asia Finance Limited (“UA”), which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, has announced that it has set up a FinTech and Innovation Department, pledging to put more resources into developing related businesses that match future market and technology trends, while continue to actively giving back to society and fulfilling its responsibilities as a good corporate citizen.
Mr. Akihiro Nagahara, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UA, said, “In the blink of an eye 25 years have passed, and to my delight, UA has kept growing over the years and is now one of the largest and most professional personal loan companies in Hong Kong. Since day one, UA has upheld the philosophy of leading through innovation and, right from the debut in 2000 of its first-in-the-market online personal loan service, it has insisted on putting customers first in tailoring the most attentive services for them. In the future, UA will continue to keep pace with market development and put resources into such areas as FinTech, talent and interaction with customers online and offline, so that it may offer the most flexible and fastest loan services to customers. To this end, earlier this month UA has set up a FinTech and Innovation Department, hoping to integrate technology and transitional industry wisdom through which it could further expand its range of services, further enhance its services and continue to lead the industry forward.”
Loan Services Pioneer to Set Up FinTech and Innovation Department to Foster Development in Strides
UA has under its belt a number of industry firsts since its inception including the online personal loan service “i-Money” and the “e-Cash” revolving loan in 2000, making it the first personal loan service company to provide online personal loan services in Hong Kong.
As a pioneer in online loan services, UA has closely followed market trends and needs and in recent years has put more resources and active effort into developing FinTech-related businesses. Earlier this month, it set up a FinTech and Innovation Department led by Aaron Lee, Chief Information Officer of UA who has more than 23 years of experience in IT strategic planning, project management, strategic partnerships, etc. The new department will focus on formulating IT services strategies and effectively deploying FinTech solutions, incorporating digital and on-line, artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, Blockchain, data security, cognitive and machine learning, and robotics process automation technologies, with the aim of transforming its pursuit of financial service innovation, thereby consolidating its market leadership. In the future, while serving customers online using FinTech/Internet and telephone channels, UA will continue to uphold its philosophy of "Customer First" since its establishment of the Company. UA will also provide services through convenient offline channels (49 branches in Hong Kong) that can best satisfy the needs of customers from all walks of life, as well as customers who cannot fully utilise online channels, allowing all customers who have financial needs to enjoy its professional and attentive personal loan services anytime.
Serves Customers from All Walks of Life - Actively Participates in Community Services to Give Back to Society
Armed with years of financial services experience and strong relevant capabilities, UA has been a leader in the local personal loan market since its inception, and has served more than 520,000 Hong Kong customers since 1993. Different from the public perception of personal loans, internal data of UA showed that it has customers from all walks of life, including the self-employed and professionals. According to data of 2018, the top four occupations of its customers are outlined below: Services and Entertainment (45%), Transportation and Logistics (10%), Labour (17%) and Business and Finance (15%). For Services & Entertainment, Transportation & Logistics and Labour, most of them are self-employed or without detailed income verification and salaries records, or without a detailed credit record. UA will, with professionalism and the ‘customer always’ service motto in mind, understand the needs of different customers so as to fully address their financial requirements. Also, UA offers flexibility, convenient and fast loan services to customers, and will even tailor different solutions to meet the actual needs of different customers for solving their problems. Thus, apart from general white-collar workers, professionals with stable income, such as lawyers, doctors and education sector professionals, etc. are also its main customer group.
Apart from taking care of the financial needs of Hongkongers, UA has over the years been a keen participant in community activities. For these efforts, UA has won several community service awards, such as: “Caring Company”, “Good Employer Charter” of the Labour Department, “Best Performance of School-Company Partnership” under the School-Company-Parent Programme, “Corporate Category” and “Volunteer Team Category” in the Hong Kong Corporate Citizenship Awards, etc. These accolades fully demonstrate UA's spirit of serving the public and its people-oriented entrepreneurship.
Average Repayment Tenor within 14 Months through “Responsible Borrowing”
As a leader in the local personal loan market, UA has abided by the industry’s code of conduct and diligently followed a set of stringent standards in granting personal loans. In addition to checking a customer’s credit record, UA has designated staff to evaluate the occupation, consumption pattern, reasons for borrowing in the past and repayment ability of the customer to make sure he or she is a “responsible borrower”. This is one of the reasons UA is able to maintain a strong market standing for 25 years.
UA’s internal data also showed that the company has customers ranging across all age groups. The average repayment tenor is within 14 months: for age of customers between 18 and 29, the average loan tenure is 14.5 months in general, and the age of 30 or above is 17.2 moths in general.
Experienced and Professional Employees
UA has now over 600 employees in total, among which over 35% of which have been with the company for more than a decade, and of these, about 20% have worked for the company for more than two decades. Experienced staff of UA can have better understanding of customers’ needs which enable UA to continuously render higher quality services to customers and offer loan solutions that can best address their needs. Together with its diversified loan services and its fast and convenient approval process, UA provides customers with comprehensive financial solutions unfailingly.
Looking ahead, UA will continue to uphold its “Customer First” service philosophy and actively develop FinTech-based loan services so as to continue to provide flexible, speedy and innovative personal loan services professionally to meet the market trend while fulfilling the borrowing needs of customers.
Mr. Akihiro Nagahara, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UA, said, “In the blink of an eye 25 years have passed, and to my delight, UA has kept growing over the years and is now one of the largest and most professional personal loan companies in Hong Kong. Since day one, UA has upheld the philosophy of leading through innovation and, right from the debut in 2000 of its first-in-the-market online personal loan service, it has insisted on putting customers first in tailoring the most attentive services for them. In the future, UA will continue to keep pace with market development and put resources into such areas as FinTech, talent and interaction with customers online and offline, so that it may offer the most flexible and fastest loan services to customers. To this end, earlier this month UA has set up a FinTech and Innovation Department, hoping to integrate technology and transitional industry wisdom through which it could further expand its range of services, further enhance its services and continue to lead the industry forward.”
Loan Services Pioneer to Set Up FinTech and Innovation Department to Foster Development in Strides
UA has under its belt a number of industry firsts since its inception including the online personal loan service “i-Money” and the “e-Cash” revolving loan in 2000, making it the first personal loan service company to provide online personal loan services in Hong Kong.
As a pioneer in online loan services, UA has closely followed market trends and needs and in recent years has put more resources and active effort into developing FinTech-related businesses. Earlier this month, it set up a FinTech and Innovation Department led by Aaron Lee, Chief Information Officer of UA who has more than 23 years of experience in IT strategic planning, project management, strategic partnerships, etc. The new department will focus on formulating IT services strategies and effectively deploying FinTech solutions, incorporating digital and on-line, artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, Blockchain, data security, cognitive and machine learning, and robotics process automation technologies, with the aim of transforming its pursuit of financial service innovation, thereby consolidating its market leadership. In the future, while serving customers online using FinTech/Internet and telephone channels, UA will continue to uphold its philosophy of "Customer First" since its establishment of the Company. UA will also provide services through convenient offline channels (49 branches in Hong Kong) that can best satisfy the needs of customers from all walks of life, as well as customers who cannot fully utilise online channels, allowing all customers who have financial needs to enjoy its professional and attentive personal loan services anytime.
Serves Customers from All Walks of Life - Actively Participates in Community Services to Give Back to Society
Armed with years of financial services experience and strong relevant capabilities, UA has been a leader in the local personal loan market since its inception, and has served more than 520,000 Hong Kong customers since 1993. Different from the public perception of personal loans, internal data of UA showed that it has customers from all walks of life, including the self-employed and professionals. According to data of 2018, the top four occupations of its customers are outlined below: Services and Entertainment (45%), Transportation and Logistics (10%), Labour (17%) and Business and Finance (15%). For Services & Entertainment, Transportation & Logistics and Labour, most of them are self-employed or without detailed income verification and salaries records, or without a detailed credit record. UA will, with professionalism and the ‘customer always’ service motto in mind, understand the needs of different customers so as to fully address their financial requirements. Also, UA offers flexibility, convenient and fast loan services to customers, and will even tailor different solutions to meet the actual needs of different customers for solving their problems. Thus, apart from general white-collar workers, professionals with stable income, such as lawyers, doctors and education sector professionals, etc. are also its main customer group.
Apart from taking care of the financial needs of Hongkongers, UA has over the years been a keen participant in community activities. For these efforts, UA has won several community service awards, such as: “Caring Company”, “Good Employer Charter” of the Labour Department, “Best Performance of School-Company Partnership” under the School-Company-Parent Programme, “Corporate Category” and “Volunteer Team Category” in the Hong Kong Corporate Citizenship Awards, etc. These accolades fully demonstrate UA's spirit of serving the public and its people-oriented entrepreneurship.
Average Repayment Tenor within 14 Months through “Responsible Borrowing”
As a leader in the local personal loan market, UA has abided by the industry’s code of conduct and diligently followed a set of stringent standards in granting personal loans. In addition to checking a customer’s credit record, UA has designated staff to evaluate the occupation, consumption pattern, reasons for borrowing in the past and repayment ability of the customer to make sure he or she is a “responsible borrower”. This is one of the reasons UA is able to maintain a strong market standing for 25 years.
UA’s internal data also showed that the company has customers ranging across all age groups. The average repayment tenor is within 14 months: for age of customers between 18 and 29, the average loan tenure is 14.5 months in general, and the age of 30 or above is 17.2 moths in general.
Experienced and Professional Employees
UA has now over 600 employees in total, among which over 35% of which have been with the company for more than a decade, and of these, about 20% have worked for the company for more than two decades. Experienced staff of UA can have better understanding of customers’ needs which enable UA to continuously render higher quality services to customers and offer loan solutions that can best address their needs. Together with its diversified loan services and its fast and convenient approval process, UA provides customers with comprehensive financial solutions unfailingly.
Looking ahead, UA will continue to uphold its “Customer First” service philosophy and actively develop FinTech-based loan services so as to continue to provide flexible, speedy and innovative personal loan services professionally to meet the market trend while fulfilling the borrowing needs of customers.