A mobile banking startup in Hong Kong has opened its waiting list to young professionals and University students, with a view to a Q2 2016 launch.

The brainchild behind this latest banking innovation is former Citibank veteran David Rosa, who co-founded the bank that set to blend machine intelligence with biometric security.

Coined ‘Neat,’ the bank operates from a smart budgeting and savings app, using facial recognition technology to log users in.

Neat is a combination of Rosa’s last start-up, Variably and the technology behind e-payments gateway, TofuPay.

“Neat is an Artificial Intelligence company doing banking, not the other way around,” said Rosa.

“If Google or Facebook were to build a banking solution; this is how they would build their business model.”

The bank is targeting millennials with a view to popularising fintech innovation and, according to Rosa, is 16 times cheaper than a branch bank in terms of running costs.

Neat plans to launch to users within the second quarter of the year.