Friday, October 11

Mobile Banking Startup Neat Secures $3 Million in Fresh Funding

A Hong Kong-based startup Neat that offers startups and SMEs access to credit cards and banking services has secured funds amounting to $3 million in a fresh funding round.

The particular round was led by China-based VC Linear Capital. The round also saw participation from Hong Kong’s Sagamore investments and existing backers Dymon Asia Ventures and Portag3 Ventures. Prior to this, the company raised $2 million seed round earlier this year.

The company basically provides quick access to prepaid Mastercard-based cards and basic banking services. Cards are charged at around $7.50 per month, with varying prices on incoming, outgoing and international payments.

Along with this, there is also a consumer option, which is much like European startups Monzo, Starling and Revolut, but Neat is more focused on business users. Neat is in a much earlier stage of development and it is serving a more fragmented market in Asia via Hong Kong.  

The company claims to have customers in 100 countries, but with Linear Capital’s backing, it is aiming to zone in on Chinese businesses that are looking for banking options in Hong Kong.

CEO David Rosa said that “a large portion” of its customers were either based in Hong Kong or associated with the market, but Neat does offer services globally with a focus on Asia. Also, the company has come up with international payments which allow users to pay out overseas without incurring exorbitant fees.