Hong Kong start-up Neat uses selfies to verify payment account users’ identities
Users able to top up app wallet from traditional bank accounts or by ‘pulling’ in cash from app
Taking a selfie might be considered an odd way to open a payment account, but it is a perfect fit for Hong Kong start-up Neat as it targets millennials who would rather pay through their smartphones than take out credit cards.
Neat founder David Rosa said the app and accompanying payment card would use facial recognition technology to verify the person on the Hong Kong identification card was the same person opening the account.
“This is a mobile bank account, you do everything through the smartphone, so this is how we can compete in a market that is prohibitive, as we are 16 times cheaper than a bank in terms of running costs,” the former banker said.
We are 16 times cheaper than a bank in terms of running costs
Neat is designed for students and young professionals who want the convenience of a debit card to shop online and in stores as well as allowing them to track their spending habits.
Users could top up their app wallet either from their traditional bank accounts or by “pulling” in cash from the app, Rosa said, adding that Neat would be compatible with Apple Pay and Android Pay.
Rosa said Hong Kong users were more comfortable with paying by card compared to their mainland Chinese counterparts, who had embraced transactions through QR codes in recent years.
Third-party mobile payments in mainland China were valued at 16.36 trillion yuan (HK$19.54 trillion) last year, research firm Analysys reported, with Alibaba’s Alipay taking 71.5 per cent of the market in the third quarter.