Neat, a Hong Kong-based fintech offering multicurrency accounts to SMEs and startups, has raised $11 million in a funding round supported by Pacific Century Group, MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia, and new commercial partner Visa.
With a global count of 500M+ startups and other SMEs, funds from this round will be used to further Neat’s international expansion.
After opening an office in Shenzhen in 2019 targeting Chinese exporters, Neat has just opened a new office in London and is set to kick off local operations in Western Europe to also serve the other side of the market: European entrepreneurs trading with China.
Visa's participation in the raise comes as Neat begins issuing corporate expense cards to SMEs for online and offline shopping and ATM withdrawals.
“Our goal is to offer a truly global solution for businesses that trade across borders, regardless of their size or how long they’ve been in the market. Corporate credit cards, for example, can be incredibly difficult for young businesses to get,” says David Rosa, CEO and co-founder of Neat. “We’re excited to partner with Visa, one of the leaders in digital payments, to offer a product that hasn’t always been accessible to young SMEs.”
He says Neat's ultimate goal beyond cross-border money movement, is to provide small businesses with a wide-range of tools in payroll, accounting and supply chain logisitics to remove the friction from trading overseas.
“We believe in making frictionless cross-border trade a reality for ambitious businesses around the world. This capital injection is going to power our growth in enabling young SMEs to operate smoothly between Europe and Asia,” says Rosa. “The success of this round has been a clear endorsement that we’re headed in the right direction.”