OREANDA-NEWS. ING today announced it has invested in Hong Kong fintech WeLab. WeLab provides consumer loans in China and Hong Kong in a fully automated process that takes minutes from application to approval. The investment is in line with ING’s strategic priority to increase the pace of innovation to serve changing customer needs by working with both dedicated internal teams and with external partners and startups.

The investment announced today follows the equity stake ING had taken in US based fintech, Kabbage, a leading platform powering automated lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). ING made this public on 14 October 2015. On 21 October, the two companies announced a partnership and the start of a pilot in Spain. In September 2015, ING also announced that it had taken over Qustomer, a digital loyalty platform in Belgium to benefit from the natural fit between loyalty and mobile payments.

“The stake we have taken in WeLab and the other investments prove that we are determined to transform banking to further improve the customer experience. We will look at the possibilities of starting a partnership with WeLab in ING markets,” said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING.

ING PROFILE

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank and holding a significant stake in the listed insurer NN Group NV. The purpose of ING Bank is empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s more than 52,000 employees offer retail and commercial banking services to customers in over 40 countries.

ING Group shares are listed (in the form of depositary receipts) on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, ING.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

Sustainability forms an integral part of ING’s corporate strategy, which is evidenced by ING Group shares being included in the FTSE4Good index and in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Europe and World) where ING is the industry leader in the diversified financials group.