Customers based in the territory will now be able to send money to any of the180 countries and 80 currencies supported by Azimo’s global money transfer platform, with a service that is significantly cheaper than other players.

Azimo's service will particularly benefit the Filipino diaspora, which is the largest foreign community in the city with more than 180,000 people,and accounts for the bulk of remittances sent from the territory. Mainland China, India and Indonesia are also among the largest markets that Azimo will serve from Hong Kong.

Azimo is one of only a handful of foreign firms to be awarded a licence to operate in the territory, which is opening its market to global fintech competition.

In September this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched the country’s Faster PaymentSystem (FPS), which allows transfers in real time between banks, stored value facilities, shops and individuals. Hong Kong also benefits from a thriving international community, making it an attractive market for money transfer firms like Azimo.

“We are excited have entered the Hong Kong market, which offers a great opportunity for Azimo to support those that have been underserved by banks and established money transfer services for far too long,” said Michael Kent, CEO of Azimo. “Our service will offer customers a fast, safe and convenient way to send money from their mobile phones to loved ones back home - at a significantly lower cost than other competitors. Azimo looks forward to serving new customers in the territory and to taking a share of Hong Kong’s multi-billion pound remittance market.”

Since launching in 2012, Azimo has expanded its service to every continent. The company now reaches more than 5 billion potential customers worldwide via a wide variety of payout methods, including bank deposits, cash pick-up and mobile wallets.
Azimo's advantages in speed, price and ease of use have resulted in sustained top-line annual growth above 100%. The service now has more than a million registered customers and over $1 billion in annualised sending volume.
In May 2018, Azimo secured a $20 million funding round led by Japan's Rakuten Capital, the investment arm of Rakuten Inc.