Hong Kong fintech startup Statrys nets $5m in angel round

Statrys, a Hong Kong-based digital payment services platform, announced that it has raised US$5 million in a funding round from an angel investor.

Photo credit: Statrys

Founded in 2018, Statrys provides payment solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, and entrepreneurs.

The company claimed that with its platform, SMEs can set up a business account easier. It is also developing Statrys-Xero integration, a new feature that will help synchronize payments with users’ Xero accounts, bridging the gap between payments and accounting software. The New Zealand-headquartered Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform for SMEs.

Statrys is looking to expand into the Asian market to help support SMEs and entrepreneurs with their business accounts and their forex and other payment needs. According to the company, larger payment processors charge higher fees for these services while banks don’t even provide them.

Its business has processed HK$500 million (US$64.5 million) in remittances and HK$200 million (US$25.8 million) in forex dealings, according to a statement from Bertrand Theaud, company founder and CEO.

He added that the new funding will help the company develop products and services such as the addition of local currency accounts, payment cards, and integration with accounting software. It will also target new markets in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.

The fintech startup will also be launching its own Statrys Debit Payment MasterCard in Hong Kong. With this, local entrepreneurs can make payments from their Statrys business accounts at all MasterCard-participating retailers and vendors, though this service is initially planned to accept only Hong Kong dollars.

Statrys offers payments and trades in 11 different currencies and has offices in London and Bangkok.

“Flow of business – therefore flow of payments – between China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia is rapidly growing. We anticipate that this trend will accelerate with the combined effect of the China-US trade war and the changes in the global supply chain that will result from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Theaud.

Currency converted from Hong Kong dollar to US dollar: US$1 = US$7.75.