WeBank Secures Four Major Awards at The Asian Banker Global Excellence Ceremony 2026
At the prestigious The Asian Banker "Global Excellence In Retail Finance Awards Ceremony And Gala Dinner 2026" held on March 12, 2026, in Shanghai, WeBank achieved a remarkable feat by winning four significant awards. This recognition highlights the bank's outstanding technological innovation and its impactful inclusive finance capabilities on an international stage.
Prestigious Recognition in the Financial Industry
The Asian Banker Excellence Award Programme is globally acknowledged as one of the most authoritative accolades in the financial sector. Known for its professionalism, impartiality, and rigorous judging process, the program attracts extensive participation from banks and fintech platforms across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. WeBank's success in this competitive arena underscores its leading position in digital banking.
Seventh Consecutive Win for Asia Pacific Excellence
WeBank once again retained the titles of "Best Digital Bank in Asia Pacific" and "Best Digital Bank in China." This marks the bank's seventh consecutive win for the Asia Pacific award and its eighth win for the China accolade, demonstrating sustained excellence over the years. The bank's strategy of placing technology at its core has positioned it as a global leader in digital banking, serving over 430 million individual customers and more than 7 million small and micro enterprises by the end of 2025.
First-Time Awards for SME Banking and Customer Experience
In addition to retaining its previous titles, WeBank secured two new awards for the first time:
- "Best SME Bank in China (Digital Bank)" for its strong track record in serving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
- "Best Customer Experience Initiative in Asia Pacific" for its Weilidai sign-language customer service project, which enhances accessibility for customers with hearing impairments.
These awards recognize WeBank's commitment to barrier-free innovation and its commercially sustainable model for digital inclusive finance.
Driving Inclusive Finance with Technology
As China's first digital bank, WeBank has leveraged its technological strengths to address financing challenges faced by small and micro enterprises, self-employed businesses, and individual customers. Through products like "Weiyedai," launched in 2017, the bank has provided timely and affordable credit, covering 30 provincial administrative regions in China and disbursing over RMB 1.8 trillion in loans to more than 1.8 million clients by the end of 2025.
Advancing AI-Native Banking Transformation
In response to the AI-driven transformation of the global financial sector, WeBank pioneered its "AI-native Bank" strategy in 2025. This initiative involves:
- Strengthening AI infrastructure and toolchain development.
- Deepening AI integration across all business scenarios.
- Reshaping organizational structures to support an AI-native operating model.
The bank has deployed more than 100 AI application scenarios, supported by over 800 AI agents and 60 digital employees, driving end-to-end business transformation and optimizing customer experience.
Commitment to Accessibility and Community Impact
Guided by its mission of "Better Banking for All," WeBank has actively promoted accessibility in financial services. Since 2015, the bank's Weilidai project has offered sign-language video customer service, issuing more than 265,000 loans totaling over RMB 1.17 billion to customers with hearing impairments. This initiative reflects the bank's dedication to combining technological efficiency with human-centric service.
The four awards won by WeBank at The Asian Banker ceremony not only highlight its achievements in technological innovation and inclusive finance but also affirm its contributions to the wider community. Moving forward, WeBank plans to continue using technology as its core growth engine and inclusiveness as its guiding principle, further enhancing service quality and supporting the high-quality development of the real economy.
