A guide for eCommerce and other business users that bank in Hong Kong with Neat or are thinking of starting a Hong Kong company.
What is Neat?
Firstly we should clarify Neat was not a bank, it was not licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Instead, it was classed as a ‘Money Service Operator’ which is a regulated financial institution, which allows it to offer a range of financial services including debit cards and lending.
Neat was launched in Hong Kong in 2015 with a plan to fill the void left by the very traditional high street banks in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has long been a financial, business, and trade hub in Asia but for companies based in Hong Kong the banks still required an in-person visit to open an account. So Neat planned to fill that gap by providing an internet and app-based service and allowing remote account opening, particularly targeting startups.
It offered virtual and physical debit cards and multi-currency accounts including Hong Kong Dollard, US Dollars, Great Britain Pounds, and Euro accounts in a single platform. This service was provided free to account holders.
After their first round of funding in 2018 of US $3 million, they raised a series A funding round of US $11 million in 2020. Then in 2022 they were acquired by Rapyd.
What is Rapyd?
Rapyd headquarters are in London England but they have offices all over the world. The CEO is Arik Shtilman.
Rapyd describes its self as a platform that brings together over 900 payment methods from over 100 countries.
Rapyd’s investors include Stripe, General Catalyst, Fidelity Management, Tiger Global, Durable Capital, Target Global, Research Company, Altimeter Capital, Tal Capital, BlackRock Funds, Oak HC/FT, and Coatue.
They offer virtual bank accounts in a single platform in over 40 countries so businesses can be paid by their customers with local account details. Accept payments in over 100 countries. They issue cards in over 30 countries and have agreements with 500k cash collection locations.
So it is clear that there will be some great benefits for those businesses that are having their Neat account converted to a Rapyd account or if you were thinking of opening a new account for your Hong Kong company.
Rapyd is focused on the following industries and business types:
- eCommerce
- eLearning
- Gaming
- Marketplaces
- Finance
- Payroll
- Online trading
- Logistics
- SMEs
- B2B
When is neat changing to Rapyd?
The main migration will be carried out on the 16th of March 2023 for USD and HKD customers, although some accounts with GBP and EURO will be done by the end of March.
By this time all Neat business accounts will be closed, with the account balance and a primary card transferred over to the new account.
What will change when neat changes to Rapyd?
We will keep you informed on how smoothly the transfer goes in the comming days, and we will be reviewing the Rapyd platform and transfer process as it happens. To keep up to date with any important changes, please join our mailing list. Existing customers will be kept informed directly.
What price is Rapyd?
Although Neat accounts were provided free of charge. A Rapyd account will be charged at, US $99. We will be evaluating the benefits and how they stack up in future reviews.
What are the alternatives to Rapyd in Hong Kong?
If you would like to travel to Hong Kong to open a bank account with a traditional bank, we are happy to make arrangements for our customers to do that and we will ensure that you have an appointment and that all of your documents are in order to make the process go through as smoothly as possible.
If however you can’t travel to Hong Kong or don’t want to there are currently 3 options for you to choose from.
In addition to a Rapyd account, you could also consider these others.
Airwallex (www.airwallex.com)
Currenxie (www.currenxie.com)
Statrys (statrys.com)
We will look at these others in more detail another time.
What integration services does Rapyd offer?
Rapyd is a fintech company with a focus on delivering high-tech services that make high-street banks look like 19th-century institutions. They offer 3 main ways to connect other platforms and services.
- APIs – For software developers to automate processes and build custom integrations.
- Low-Code – A hosted checkout toolkit for integrating your payment processes
- No-Code – Plugins and add-ons – These are pre-built plug-and-play options for non-developers like Xero bank feeds and other similar time-saving solutions.
How we can help
Hong Kong accountancy services
If you have a Hong Kong company or are thinking about forming one we can help get that done for you.
If you bank with Neat currently and are confused about what will happen when your account changes, we can help.
If you would like help opening a Hong Kong bank account with Rapyd or with any other bank, we are happy to take care of all of the formalities while you get on running your business.
Software development services
We work closely with a technology partner that can help you at short notice to sove the problems you may experience in changing from Neat to Rapyd. If you business relies on daily payments, then let the experts take care of the transition for you so you don’t miss a single sale.
We will provide more details in a separate blog about the technology services that we can now offer along with our partner, but a brief overview is as follows:
IT services provided
- ICT consultancy services
- Custom and WordPress Website Solutions
- Resolution and support services
- eCommerce content delivery platforms
- Fulfilment and delivery service automation
- Communication, Email, and SMS automation
- Payment gateway integration solutions
Digital marketing services include
- Search Engine Optimization SEO Services
- Social media integrations
- Marketing Funnel design services
- And many other related services.
So if you are looking for a one-stop-shop for your online business, speak to our expert consultants and we will help you solve your technology problems and build a high-tech fully automated marketing and delivery platform that will take your business to the next level.
Free Consultation
Whether you are interested in talking to one of our qualified Hong Kong accountants or one of our technology experts. We offer a free consultation so we can get to know your business and outline how we can help you.
Please book your free consultation here to get started
Hong Kong accountant consultation – https://clendly.com/raymondmocpa
Technology consultant consultation – https://calendly.com/paulhanner9/60min