livi bank: Hong Kong virtual bank (Bank of China (Hong Kong), JD.com, Jardines)

The account is held by the bank registered as Livi Bank Limited among the licensed banks incorporated in Hong Kong, in the HKMA list as at 31 December 2025. The virtual bank licence was granted in March 2019 to Livi VB Limited, a name retained as an alias. According to public presentations, the shareholders are Bank of China (Hong Kong), JD.com and Jardine Matheson.

The status is verified against the list of authorized institutions published in the appendix to the HKMA annual report, as at 31 December 2025; the HKMA's online register could not be consulted directly. The shareholding has not been verified against a primary source.

The FAQ states that the liviSave account is open to Hong Kong residents aged at least figure being updated who hold the new smart identity card, have a valid Hong Kong address, are located in Hong Kong and have a local mobile number. A resident expatriate holding this card is eligible.

The FAQ consulted does not address either non-residents or what happens to the account after leaving Hong Kong.

When the first licences were granted in 2019, the HKMA described virtual banks as mainly targeting the general public and small and medium-sized businesses in Hong Kong. They are not designed as offshore banks for non-residents: access requires, unless a specific route applies, Hong Kong resident status.

livi offers savings in Hong Kong dollars, yuan and US dollars, a Mastercard debit card and transfers; a business account is also available.

Foreign exchange, withdrawal and transfer fees are not included: the section of the FAQ devoted to the card was not read in full.

The livi FAQ states that from 1 October 2024 the Deposit Protection Scheme's protection limit per depositor has been raised to up to HK$800,000¹.

livi's membership of the scheme is presented implicitly by the FAQ; it has not been verified against the DPS list of members.

The limit applies bank by bank: deposits spread across several Hong Kong virtual banks each benefit from their own limit, whereas several accounts opened with the same bank are added together. According to the HKMA, the increase in the limit is part of a first phase of reforms to the Deposit Protection Scheme that took effect on 1 October 2024.

• Presence in Hong Kong and the new identity card at the time of application.
• The treatment of yuan and US dollar deposits by the DPS, not verified here.
• What happens to the account after leaving.
• Reporting obligations linked to your tax residence: a French tax resident must declare every year the accounts opened, held, used or closed outside France, including those with online banks and payment wallets; other countries impose comparable obligations.
• The tax residence self-certification requested at account opening: depending on the automatic exchange of information commitments of the bank's country, the account balances and income may be communicated to the tax authority of your country of residence.