Aspire expands to Hong Kong with new license

Aspire co-founders Andrea Baronchelli (left) and Giovanni Casinelli / Photo credit: Aspire

Singapore-headquartered fintech firm Aspire has secured a Money Service Operator license in Hong Kong, it said in a statement, marking its entry into the territory.

The license comes as the company recently hit profitability on a monthly basis after raising US$100 million in series C funding in February last year. Aspire recently said it plans to double down on Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific to follow customer demand – it is also present in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.

“With Hong Kong’s digital economy growing exponentially, there’s a clear demand for dependable, integrated financial solutions,” said Andrea Baronchelli, CEO and co-founder of Aspire. The firm’s clients use the platform to create local business accounts, handle international payments, and set up a payment gateway solution, among other services.

Founded in 2018, Aspire has raised over US$300 million in funding. Its backers include Sequoia, Lightspeed, Y Combinator, Tencent, and PayPal.

The company serves 15,000 businesses across the region, with clients like Endowus, Love Bonito, and NextBillion.ai. (Full disclosure: Tech in Asia is also a client.)

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