🇭🇰livi bank: virtual bank BOC HK + JD.com + Jardines with Mainland remittance

Concept

livi bank (formerly livi VB Limited) is a Hong Kong virtual bank licensed by HKMA in 2019. It began operations in August 2020. A joint venture of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Holdings, JD Technology and Jardine Matheson Group — a classic bank partnered with PRC e-commerce (JD) and a historic Hong Kong conglomerate (Jardines). Deposits are insured by Hong Kong DPS up to HK$800,000.

livi personal accounts support HKD, CNY and USD; time deposits are available in all three currencies with a free account and no minimum balance. livi Business is a separate product for Hong Kong companies with no minimum balance; corporate time deposits range from HK$500 to HK$10 million. Important caveat: livi Business corporate accounts do not offer cross-border transfers via RTGS — instant international transfers are only available on personal accounts (USD via RTGS), and cross-border business flows push corporate clients to seek alternatives.

🍓 livi bank makes sense for HK personal clients with USD flows or CNY settlements to mainland China (instant cross-border USD transfers via RTGS are rare in the retail segment) and local small businesses on Hong Kong companies without cross-border business flows. For corporate cross-border SWIFT operations — ZA Bank.

Use cases

Personal USD transfers via RTGS. Through BOCHK, livi offers personal clients fast USD transfers via Real-Time Gross Settlement — a rare product in the retail virtual segment. CNY settlements to mainland China go through BOCHK correspondents without additional fees.

Local HKD/CNY transfers for corporates. livi Business corporate clients get instant transfers in HKD and CNY (within HK and to mainland China via BOCHK rails), loans with 1-business-day decisions. Cross-border SWIFT/RTGS transfers on business accounts are not supported — this limitation distinguishes livi from ZA Business and Airstar Business.

livi Business for Hong Kong companies. Fast online opening, mobile treasury dashboard, payroll, expense tracking. Competes with ZA Business and is faster than classic Hong Kong banks.

Personal banking with multi-currency wallet, debit card and retail savings.

Who livi is not suitable for

• Non-residents of Hong Kong with a company but no local address and no HKID beneficiary — livi requires at least one director with HKID.
• Large international SWIFT operations outside the US/PRC — better to use HSBC HK or Standard Chartered HK.
• Russians and Belarusians without HKID or residency in another country — like all HK virtual banks, strict KYC.

Related topics

• Opening a bank account in Hong Kong
• Airstar Bank: Xiaomi-backed
• ZA Bank
• Fusion Bank: Tencent-backed
• Ant Bank: Ant Group / Alipay

Key factual claims

• livi bank (formerly livi VB Limited) is a Hong Kong virtual bank licensed by HKMA in 2019.