Monexo aims to make banking in Hong Kong more efficient

Hong Kong prides itself on being a global financial centre. Yet it has always been a follower in financial development rather than a leader and has been slow to respond to an exciting development its supporters say has the potential to revolutionise the way financial borrowers and lenders are brought together.

Peer to peer lending (P2P) is growing rapidly in the US and Britain. WeLend, which started in 2013 with backing from Li Ka-shing, was hoping to conduct P2P lending but has morphed into an online money lender and appears to be focusing more on mainland China.

Last month a new startup went live called Monexo which is doing P2P lending. Its CEO and founder is 46 year old Mukesh Bubna who previously spent 18 years with Citibank in Asia in senior positions overseeing credit cards and consumer loans. Having spent so long in traditional banking he sees clearly how much the banks are making out of consumers, particularly in Hong Kong. He asks: "Why is credit card interest at 34 per cent here?"

It's because the banks are inefficient and there is no proper competition, he believes. Bubna adds that the existence of 1,300 licensed money lenders is a clear indication that the banks are not serving Hong Kong efficiently. His mission is to make banking in Hong Kong more efficient.