Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Interest rates, fees, and product features are subject to change. Verify current terms directly with ZA Bank before making financial decisions.
What Is ZA Bank?
ZA Bank is Hong Kong’s first virtual bank, licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on 27 March 2019 and launched to the public on 24 March 2020. It is part of the ZhongAn Group, a Chinese insurtech company backed by Ant Group, Tencent, and Ping An Insurance.
Unlike traditional banks such as HSBC or Standard Chartered, ZA Bank operates entirely through its mobile app with no physical branches. That does not mean it is less regulated. As a fully licensed bank under the Banking Ordinance, ZA Bank is subject to the same HKMA oversight as any traditional bank in the city, and deposits are protected up to HK$800,000 per depositor under the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme. This limit was raised from HK$500,000 in October 2024.
ZA Bank has grown quickly. It surpassed one million users in 2025, making it the largest virtual bank in Hong Kong by customer base. It also holds a Type 1 licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), allowing it to offer securities dealing, and has won the NextGen Digital Bank of the Year award three years running.
For expats, the appeal is clear: a modern, English-language banking app that handles everyday banking, international transfers, multi-currency accounts, investing, and even crypto trading in a single platform.
Opening a ZA Bank Account as an Expat
Opening a ZA Bank account is fast and fully digital. The process takes roughly two minutes if you have everything ready, and there is no minimum deposit required.
To be eligible, you need to meet four requirements: you must be aged 18 or above, hold a new smart Hong Kong Identity Card (HKID) issued on or after 26 November 2018, have a valid Hong Kong mobile phone number capable of receiving SMS, and have a Hong Kong residential address.
The process itself is straightforward. Download the ZA Bank app, scan your HKID, complete a facial recognition check, enter your residential address and occupation details, set a username and password, and you are done. No branch visit, no appointment, no paper forms.
There are a few things expats should know. First, you cannot open a ZA Bank account before arriving in Hong Kong because you need a valid HKID. If your HKID was issued before November 2018, you will need to get a replacement card at an Immigration Department office before applying. Second, ZA Bank states that it cannot open accounts for customers with tax residency, place of birth, or nationality in certain countries, though the specific list is not published. If you are unsure whether your nationality is affected, contact ZA Bank’s in-app chat support before starting the application.
Visitor accounts do exist, but they are currently restricted to mainland Chinese citizens holding a PRC Resident Identity Card and a mainland China bank card. This means tourists and short-term visitors from other countries cannot open an account.
Savings and Deposits
ZA Bank offers several savings options, but the headline rates require some context.
The base savings rate on a standard Savings Pot is just 0.01% per annum, which is effectively nothing. However, ZA Bank structures its savings products around two higher-yield options.
The High-Rate Pot offers up to 5% p.a. by completing in-app challenges (such as setting up direct deposit or making a certain number of card transactions). This rate applies to balances up to HK$800,000. The Chill Pot offers a simpler 0.5% p.a. with no challenges required, on balances up to HK$1,000,000. For expats who just want a passive savings rate without gamification, the Chill Pot is the more practical choice.
Time deposits start from just HK$1 (or the equivalent in CNY or USD), with tenors ranging from 7 days to 12 months. ZA Bank regularly offers promotional rate-up coupons through its Rate-Up Tuesday programme, which can push short-term time deposit rates significantly higher. These promotional rates change frequently, so check the app for current offers.
For comparison, Mox Bank (backed by Standard Chartered) offers promotional savings rates between 2.5% and 4.1% on balances up to HK$500,000, with a simpler structure and fewer conditions. If you prefer straightforward, consistent rates over gamified challenges, Mox may be a better fit for savings. But if you are willing to engage with the challenges, ZA Bank’s 5% p.a. ceiling is hard to beat among Hong Kong’s virtual banks.
Multi-Currency and International Transfers
ZA Bank supports 11 currencies: HKD, CNY, USD, GBP, SGD, EUR, CAD, AUD, JPY, NZD, and CHF. Currency exchange is available 24/7 through the app with zero handling fees, which is a genuine advantage over traditional banks that typically charge a spread or handling fee.
For international transfers, ZA Bank partners with Wise through its ZA Remit service, covering 15 or more currencies and over 140 countries. The fee structure has two components: the standard Wise fee (which varies by currency and amount) plus a 0.25% convenience fee charged by ZA Bank. Transfers typically complete within minutes.
This is competitively priced compared to traditional bank wire transfers, which often carry flat fees of HK$100 to HK$250 plus unfavourable exchange rates. However, if you already have a standalone Wise account, using Wise directly saves you the 0.25% ZA Bank markup. The convenience of ZA Remit is that everything stays within one banking app.
Local transfers via FPS (Faster Payment System) are free and instant, which is standard across all Hong Kong banks.
ZA Card: Spending, ATMs, and Rewards
The ZA Card is a Visa debit card with no annual fee. One of its more distinctive features is that you can customise the last six digits of your card number during setup.
The card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay and gives you free cash withdrawals at over 3,000 Visa-branded ATMs across Hong Kong. For overseas transactions settled in a foreign currency, a cross-border transaction fee of 1.95% applies (1% from Visa, 0.95% from ZA Bank). This is on the higher side compared to multi-currency cards like Wise, which charge no markup on the mid-market exchange rate.
ZA Bank runs several reward programmes tied to card spending. StockBack lets you earn fractional stock rewards from purchases, while MillionTix and PowerDraw are lottery-style promotions offering cashback of up to 200%. These are fun extras, but they should not be the primary reason to choose ZA Bank.
For dedicated spending rewards such as cashback on groceries or dining, a traditional credit card will generally offer better returns. The ZA Card works best as a practical everyday debit card rather than a rewards-maximising tool.
Investing and Crypto
ZA Bank is the only bank in Hong Kong (and the first in Asia) to offer retail cryptocurrency trading directly within its banking app. Launched in November 2024 through a partnership with HashKey, an SFC-licensed virtual asset exchange, the service allows you to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum 24/7 using HKD or USD.
The minimum order is USD 60 (approximately HK$500), and there is no platform fee for the first 90 days after activation. Funds are debited and credited directly from your savings account, so there is no need to move money to a separate exchange.
Beyond crypto, ZA Bank offers access to US stock trading with a platform fee starting from USD 1.99 (HK$18) per transaction and zero brokerage or custody fees. The fund platform covers over 170 investment funds with 0% subscription fees.
For expats who want a consolidated view of banking, saving, and investing in one app, this is a strong proposition. However, it is important to note that investment and crypto holdings are not covered by the Deposit Protection Scheme. Only cash deposits up to HK$800,000 are protected.
Insurance and Loans
ZA Bank also offers insurance products through its affiliate, ZA Insure, which is regulated by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority. Available products include life insurance, critical illness cover, and Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) plans. Applications can be completed within the app in approximately three minutes.
On the lending side, ZA Bank offers instalment loans of up to HK$1,000,000 with an APR starting from 1.30%. Preliminary approval can come through in as fast as 90 seconds. Other loan products include card statement instalments and debt consolidation loans.
These features are useful to have within the same app, though expats should compare insurance quotes and loan terms across providers before committing. For health insurance in particular, it is worth reading our guide to health insurance in Hong Kong to understand the broader landscape.
Pros and Cons for Expats
After reviewing every major feature, here is a balanced assessment of where ZA Bank delivers and where it falls short for the expat community in Hong Kong.
On the positive side, the account opening process is genuinely fast and fully digital with no minimum deposit. The app is well-designed, modern, and fully available in English. The multi-currency account with 11 currencies and zero-fee FX exchange is a strong feature for expats who deal in multiple currencies. The Wise-powered international transfer service is competitively priced. Having stocks, funds, crypto, insurance, and loans all within one banking app is a level of consolidation no traditional Hong Kong bank currently matches. And as a fully HKMA-regulated bank with DPS protection, your deposits carry the same safety as money in HSBC.
On the other side, you cannot open an account without a valid HKID, so ZA Bank is not an option before you arrive in Hong Kong. The base savings rate of 0.01% is essentially zero, and reaching the higher rates requires engaging with gamified challenges that some users find confusing or time-consuming. The 1.95% cross-border card fee makes the ZA Card a poor choice for overseas spending compared to a Wise card or certain travel credit cards. There are no physical branches, which can be a drawback if you encounter a complex issue that is difficult to resolve through in-app chat. And the list of restricted nationalities for account opening is not publicly available, which creates uncertainty for some expats.
Overall, ZA Bank is a strong choice as a secondary banking app for expats in Hong Kong, particularly those who want multi-currency flexibility, affordable remittance, and access to investing in one place. For primary day-to-day banking, most expats will still want a traditional bank account (see our guide to opening a bank account) alongside ZA Bank.
Read More
- Opening a Bank Account in Hong Kong as a New Arrival
- Wise Account for Hong Kong Expats: What Works and What Doesn’t
- Best Credit Cards for Grocery Shopping in Hong Kong
- How to Use AlipayHK as an Expat in Hong Kong
- PayMe by HSBC: How to Use It as an Expat in Hong Kong
- Sending Money from Hong Kong: Best Transfer Services for Expats
