MoneyBuddy Launches Upgraded AI Loan-Matching Feature for SME, Personal and Mortgage Loans
Hong Kong, China – Aug 18, 2026 – MoneyBuddy, a free and independent loan matching platform that compares offers from more than 30 banks and licensed finance companies across Hong Kong, today announced an AI-powered matching feature built specifically for its SME loan, personal loan and mortgage loan categories. The platform, which has matched over 2,500 borrowers since its founding more than 10 years ago and charges no fees at any stage of the process, uses a single two-minute enquiry to identify the lowest APR loan a borrower qualifies for across a lender network that includes 15 or more tier-1 banks, six or more virtual banks, 10 or more licensed money lenders and eight or more specialty SME lenders. The new feature raised matching rates across the three targeted categories by 80%, according to MoneyBuddy.
The AI feature sits inside MoneyBuddy’s existing matching engine and is applied at the point where a borrower’s enquiry is scored against lender criteria. For SME loans, which cover working capital, equipment and expansion financing for businesses with at least one year of operation and can extend to more than HK$2,000,000, the feature refines how non-prime and previously rejected applicants are routed to lenders more likely to accept their profile. For personal loans, including debt consolidation cases, and for mortgage and second mortgage applications, where initial approval can already come within three business days versus two to four weeks at a standard bank, the same logic narrows the lender shortlist before an application is submitted. MoneyBuddy’s matching process continues to rely on a soft credit check only, which preserves the borrower’s credit score during comparison.
“The SME category is where mismatched applications cost borrowers the most time, because a Grade-F applicant who applies to the wrong lender can lose weeks before getting a rejection,” said Jacky Tong, Managing Director of MoneyBuddy. “Narrowing that shortlist before submission is the direct value of the feature.”
Hong Kong borrowers with high credit card debt, self-employed applicants without traditional income proof, and non-prime borrowers with Grade D to F credit profiles have historically faced longer approval cycles or outright rejection from traditional banks, a gap MoneyBuddy’s consultants have addressed through credit-repair coaching and application guidance. The company’s consultants work on fixed salaries with no commission incentive, and quotes are passed directly from lenders without markup, a structure MoneyBuddy says keeps matching recommendations unbiased.
“Matching an SME applicant to the right lender on the first attempt, rather than the fifth, is the difference between five weeks and five months,” said Jacky Tong, Managing Director of MoneyBuddy.
The AI matching feature is live now within MoneyBuddy’s existing enquiry flow at no added cost to borrowers, who can submit the same single two-minute enquiry used across the platform’s personal, SME, mortgage, renovation, tax and medical loan categories. The platform’s free online repayment calculator and WhatsApp-based advisor support remain unchanged, and borrowers who complete a successful loan drawdown continue to be eligible for a cash rebate.
About MoneyBuddy
MoneyBuddy is a free, independent loan matching platform operating under Thunder Financial Holding Limited, comparing personal, SME, mortgage, renovation, tax and medical loan offers from more than 30 banks and licensed finance companies across Hong Kong. The platform has matched more than 2,500 borrowers over more than 10 years in business and has been featured in the USA Today, Barchart, Street Insider and others. MoneyBuddy uses 256-bit SSL encryption, is PDPO compliant, and never sells customer data.
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Company Name: MoneyBuddy
Contact Person: Scarlett Chan
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Country: HongKong
Website: https://moneybuddy.hk/
