Concept
Airstar Bank is one of Hong Kong's eight digital banks: branchless retail banks that the HKMA began licensing in 2019 and formally renamed from 'virtual banks' to 'digital banks' in October 2024. Airstar received its licence on 9 May 2019 and opened to the public in June 2020 as Hong Kong's second virtual bank. It was founded as a venture between Xiaomi and AMTD Group, with Xiaomi holding the controlling stake; the Xiaomi link gives Airstar access to the Xiaomi Finance platform and the company's large device user base across mainland China. Deposits are covered by the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme up to HK$800,000, the same protection that applies at any licensed bank in the city.
Two things set Airstar apart among the eight digital banks. It has consistently offered one of the highest rates on 12-month HKD term deposits, around 2.6 to 2.7% in early 2026 (to be verified, since promotional rates move with the market). It was also the first Hong Kong digital bank to run 24-hour FX dealing in HKD, USD and CNY, which matters for clients working the mainland-China corridor outside normal banking hours. Airstar serves both corporate accounts (Airstar Business) and individuals, with zero fees on most retail operations and no monthly maintenance charge or minimum balance.
🍓 Airstar suits a Hong Kong company that wants a digital corporate account opened in days, cross-border settlement with mainland China, and a competitive HKD deposit rate. Xiaomi ownership adds ecosystem perks for users of Xiaomi devices and services. It is built for the China corridor; for large SWIFT settlement outside Asia, a traditional bank fits better.
Ownership: from Xiaomi and AMTD to Xiaomi and Futu
Airstar started as a venture between Xiaomi and the Hong Kong investment firm AMTD Group, with Xiaomi as the controlling owner. The cap table changed in June 2024, when the brokerage group Futu Holdings put HK$440 million into Gravitation Fintech HK, Airstar's parent company, and became the second-largest beneficial owner with an indirect stake of about 44%. Xiaomi still holds the largest block at roughly 50%, while AMTD, once the co-founder, has been diluted to a minority. Airstar now sits between a consumer-tech giant and a retail brokerage, and that ownership pulls its roadmap toward investing, payments and a China-facing user base.
Regulation and deposit protection
Airstar holds a full banking licence and is supervised by the HKMA on the same prudential terms as any other licensed bank in Hong Kong; the practical difference is that it has no branches. In October 2024 the HKMA retired the label 'virtual bank' for 'digital bank', after a consultation found that the Chinese word for 'virtual' read as 'fake' to many customers. Deposits sit under the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme up to HK$800,000 per depositor, a ceiling lifted from HK$500,000 on 1 October 2024. For anyone deciding where to open an account in Hong Kong, the rulebook and the protection match a high-street bank, and the trade-off is service through an app instead of a counter.
Use cases
Corporate account for a Hong Kong company, opened fast. Airstar Business can open within about 48 hours, with an opening fee of HK$850 to 8,000 depending on the corporate structure. It targets small and medium-sized businesses and comes with a payment dashboard, expense tracking, cards and employee payouts. Its direct rivals are the business accounts at ZA Bank and livi.
Term deposits in HKD, USD and CNY. Airstar's headline product is its 12-month HKD deposit, which has sat near the top of the digital-bank table (roughly 2.6 to 2.7% in early 2026; rates are promotional and change). Multi-currency deposits in HKD, USD and CNY suit companies that settle with the mainland and want to park idle cash at a yield.
Transfers to mainland China and round-the-clock FX. As the first Hong Kong digital bank with 24-hour FX in HKD, USD and CNY, Airstar lets clients deal at close-to-interbank rates outside the hours of traditional banks. Retail CNY transfers to the mainland run over Xiaomi Finance infrastructure at competitive cost.
For individuals, Airstar layers in Xiaomi ecosystem perks such as cashback on Xiaomi purchases and privileges across Xiaomi services, which is the main reason a retail user picks it over a rival digital bank.
Where Airstar sits among the eight digital banks
Six years in, Hong Kong's digital-bank cohort has split in two. ZA Bank, WeLab Bank and Mox have reached or touched breakeven, with ZA Bank posting its first interim profit of about HK$49 million in the first half of 2025. The other five were still loss-making on their 2025 figures, Airstar among them, alongside livi, Fusion Bank, Ant Bank and PAO Bank. This says nothing about depositor safety, since the money is HKMA-protected, but it explains why Airstar competes hard on deposit rates and relies on Xiaomi and Futu for distribution rather than spending heavily to acquire customers.
Airstar's answer to the cost problem has been to move its entire core banking system onto Tencent Cloud, which lets it scale capacity with demand and ship features faster. Together with the Futu shareholding, the direction is a leaner, cloud-run bank selling deposits, FX and investing to a China-facing base, rather than a full-service bank chasing every segment.
Who Airstar is not suitable for
- Transfers to the United States: livi handles US dollar payments better.
- Large international SWIFT settlement outside China: a traditional bank such as HSBC Hong Kong or Standard Chartered fits better.
- Non-residents of Hong Kong without HKID – Airstar requires either HKID or a long-term HK visa.
Related topics
- Opening a bank account in Hong Kong
- ZA Bank
- livi bank
- Fusion Bank: Tencent-backed
- Ant Bank: Ant Group / Alipay
- Mox Bank: Standard Chartered-backed
- WeLab Bank
- PAO Bank