What is a digital bank?

A digital bank is a bank which delivers banking services exclusively or primarily through the internet or other forms of electronic channels.​ All services of digital banks can be performed online and they may not have bricks-and-mortar branches. Clients can open an account, make deposits, take out loans and perform other banking transactions via a mobile app or through the website of the digital bank.

According to the requirements of the HKMA, digital banks should not impose any minimum account balance requirements or low-balance fees on their customers to facilitate financial inclusion. A digital bank must maintain a physical office in Hong Kong as its principal place of business in the territory to deal with client enquiries or complaints.