Asia's best digital bank 2020: Ping An Bank

When Euromoney met the head of retail banking at Ping An Bank, Xinfa Cai, in September 2019, he talked of his desire to hear his employer mentioned, in terms of its dedication to innovation and service, in the same breath as the likes Taobao and JD.com, two of China’s biggest and best digitally driven corporates. 

A few years earlier, such thinking would have been delusional. Not anymore. Under the leadership of chairman Xie Yonglin, Ping An Bank has disrupted itself, voluntarily and all but completely, from within. 

There is so much to mention here, but it’s worth starting with Pocket Bank, Ping An’s digital banking app. Every number in China is big, but the data is still remarkable. 

Pocket Bank had 89.5 million customers at the end of 2019, up 43.7% year on year. Of the total, 32.9 million were monthly active users, up 23.5% over the same period. Many banks talk of being tech-driven businesses, but Ping An Bank means it. 

Everything it does in digital is carefully considered and planned but also imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit.