Hong Kong-based purely digital bank WeLab Bank has selected global funds network Calastone to automate its fund orders and reporting by providing full straight-through-processing for fund orders, reporting and reconciliations with the adoption of the Calastone Order Routing and Reporting solutions.

Through a single connection to Calastone’s network, the bank can immediately start trading with all of its fund managers to process fund orders and reconcile client holdings, reducing the time and cost of maintaining multiple connections with multiple trading partners and ensuring their end investors received the smoothest and fastest service possible.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted licences to eight virtual banks in 2018, including WeLab Bank, enabling more than 1.2 million virtual accounts to be opened by the end of 2021. The bank, which also offers digital wealth advisory services to investors, has launched GoWealth Digital Wealth Advisory where customers can use personalized advisory services on a mobile app.

Justin Christopher, managing director, head of Asia, at Calastone, says: “Selecting the right technology is crucial to virtual banks as investor expectations for a seamless and accessible service intensify.”