SME-focused fintech firm Neat banks $11m in series A funding

Neat, a fintech startup from Hong Kong that provides financial services to small businesses, said it has raised US$11 million in a series A round.

Neat co-founders David Rosa (left) and Igor Wos / Photo credit: Neat

The capital injection was led by private investment group Pacific Century, and was rounded off by payments giant Visa and the newly launched MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia. Neat’s seed investors Dymon Asia Ventures, Linear Capital, and Sagamore Investments also chipped in, according to a statement.

In essence, the startup helps small- and medium-sized enterprises and startups open multicurrency business accounts and assists with company incorporation. The account lets companies send and receive money globally at more competitive exchange rates, as well as provide corporate expense cards for online and offline spending.

While it focuses more on business users, it also offers a consumer option.

The company said it plans to use the fresh capital to continue extending its reach internationally. After it opened an office in Shenzhen last year to target Chinese exporters, Neat set up base in London and is slated to kick off local operations in Western Europe to serve European entrepreneurs trading with China.

It plans to further invest in its customer support capabilities and further develop its customer acquisition channels across Southeast Asia, according to the firm.

The startup also announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Visa to begin issuing Visa credit cards aimed at cross-border companies within the next few months. Initially, Neat only provided Mastercard-based options.

According to data from Crunchbase, the current fundraise boosts the company’s total funding to US$16 million. It previously raised US$2 million from Dymon Asia and Portag3 Ventures in July 2018, followed by a US$3 million venture round led by Linear Capital in October of the same year.