EleBank Review: Accounts, Interest Rates, the Visa Platinum Card, Fees and the Real Value of the 18% Welcome Time Deposit

Ele Bank Limited is a licensed bank authorised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. It is a digital bank, has held a banking licence since 9 May 2019 and has the bank code 395. Formerly Airstar Bank, it was renamed EleBank (象象銀行 in Chinese) on 23 April 2026; on 13 August the same year its Chinese brand was changed again to 大象銀行, while the English name remained unchanged. According to the bank's press releases, its major shareholders are Futu Group and Xiaomi Group.

The bank states that the brand changes do not affect bank accounts, bank cards or other services, and existing customers need take no action. Because the name has changed twice, any message claiming to come from the bank should be verified only through the official website www.elebank.com and the registered SMS sender name (#eleBank), to guard against fraudulent websites and phishing messages.

The bank is a member of the Deposit Protection Scheme, and eligible deposits are protected up to HK$800,000 per depositor. Cash Plus and the fund Regular Saving Plan are investment products, not protected deposits.

The savings account supports 11 currencies: Hong Kong dollars, renminbi, US dollars, euros, Japanese yen, pounds sterling, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, New Zealand dollars, Singapore dollars and Swiss francs, with a 24-hour foreign exchange service. The bank states that no handling fee is charged on currency exchange; the actual cost depends on the exchange rate at the time. The account has no minimum balance requirement, and FPS and CHATS transfers are both free.

There are three routes for remittances to the Chinese mainland: renminbi sent through Payment Connect to participating mainland institutions, free of charge; WeRemit to a mainland Weixin wallet, at HK$30 per transaction and only for remitters aged 16 to 99; or a telegraphic transfer. Remittances to overseas bank accounts or bank cards can be made through Global Remittance, at 0.35% of the amount remitted, with a minimum of HK$48 and a maximum of HK$248 per transaction; remittances to overseas e-wallets cost HK$30 each. A telegraphic transfer costs HK$248 if the remitter bears all charges (OUR), and HK$48 if the beneficiary bears them (BEN) or the charges are shared (SHA).

The bank also offers personal instalment loans; its fee schedule states that there is no handling fee and no late payment fee. Loan interest rates are approved case by case and fall outside the scope of this review.

For savings, the board rates on 11 October 2026 were: HKD 0.50% p.a. on the first HK$300,000 and 0.10% on the balance above it; USD 1.00% on the first US$50,000 and 0.10% above it; and renminbi 0.50% regardless of balance, with interest calculated daily. HK$100,000 held in Hong Kong dollars for a year would earn about HK$500 in interest.

Time deposits can be placed in Hong Kong dollars, US dollars or renminbi, from a minimum of 1,000, for terms of 7 days to 12 months, and can be opened 24 hours a day. HKD board rates are 0.01% for one week, 0.10% for one month, 1.90% for two months, 2.60% for three months, 2.80% for four months, 3.00% for six months, 3.30% for nine months and 3.40% for twelve months; USD rates are 2.90% for one month and 4.20% for twelve months. HKD time deposits of one month or less carry board rates below the savings rate on the first HK$300,000, so funds needed within two months earn more interest if left in the savings account.

Money Safe is an anti-fraud measure introduced by the HKMA. Customers can lock some or all of their deposits in the app; locked funds earn the same interest as unlocked funds but cannot be used for any transaction, including transfers, payments, investments or loan repayments. To unlock funds, you must first make an appointment in the app and then visit a bank office in person; the bank unlocks the funds within three working days after verification. It suits long-term reserves and is unsuitable for funds that may be needed in the short term.

The EleBank Visa Platinum Card offers a choice of card designs, deducts purchases directly from the account balance, has no annual fee and can be added to Apple Pay, Google Pay and Click to Pay. The first physical card and each replacement physical card cost HK$50; those who pay only by mobile do not need to apply for a physical card. Cash Plus Redemption Payment can also be enabled, so that money market fund holdings are redeemed automatically to pay for purchases.

Foreign currency spending incurs a charge of 1.95% of the transaction amount; transactions paid in Hong Kong dollars but with a merchant or acquirer registered outside Hong Kong also incur a 1.95% cross-border HKD transaction fee. Local ATM withdrawals are free, while overseas withdrawals cost 3% of the amount withdrawn; each transaction dispute costs HK$100, whether or not the dispute succeeds.

Once the multi-currency transaction function is enabled, spending paid from a Hong Kong dollar, euro, Japanese yen, Singapore dollar or US dollar balance in the same currency incurs no fee; spending in other currencies, or when the balance is insufficient, is still charged 1.95%, and the function does not support renminbi. For example, HK$10,000 of spending in Japanese yen would incur a fee of about HK$195 without the multi-currency function; converting to yen in advance and enabling the function leaves only the exchange rate as a cost. Snap Card is a supplementary virtual card with its own card number, CVV and expiry date and a spending limit you set yourself; each costs HK$19.9 a year.

Opening an investment account requires valid proof of address, and the bank notifies applicants of the result within three working days. Hong Kong share commission is 0.03% of the transaction amount (minimum HK$3 per trade), plus a platform fee of HK$15 per order and charges collected on behalf of others, such as stamp duty of 0.1% (amounts below HK$1 are counted as HK$1), the trading fee and the SFC levy. The "lifetime commission-free" trading the bank advertises applies only to accounts opened during the campaign period, the dates of which are as announced by the bank; we could not confirm whether new accounts still qualify. Hong Kong odd lots can be traded from one share, at the same charges as board lots.

US share commission is US$0.0049 per share (minimum US$0.99 per trade), and the platform fee is US$0.005 per share (minimum US$1 per trade); each is capped at 0.5% of the transaction amount, although the per-trade minimum applies where the two conflict. Fractional orders for less than one share carry no commission or third-party fees, with a platform fee of 0.99% of the transaction amount, capped at US$0.99 per trade; the bank states that US fractional shares start from US$5 and are available only for selected stocks and ETFs. If the cash balance in the investment account becomes negative, interest is charged at 6.8% p.a. for Hong Kong shares and 4.8% p.a. for US shares.

Fund subscriptions and redemptions carry no charges and no platform fee, with a minimum purchase of 0.01 in Hong Kong or US dollars. For crypto-assets, Bitcoin and Ether can be traded; charges consist of a 0.08% commission plus a platform fee based on monthly trading volume (up to 0.08%), the minimum order is 1 US dollar or Hong Kong dollar subject to minimum quantity requirements, and trading is available 24 hours a day all year round; the Investor Compensation Fund does not cover virtual asset trading. The bank's website gives its SFC registration number as BTU023. Investment involves risk; prices may go down as well as up, and past performance is not indicative of future performance.

To qualify, you must hold a valid Hong Kong Identity Card, submit an account-opening application during the promotion period, and successfully open a personal bank account within 15 days of applying and on or before 30 November 2026, entering the invite code W2JRF5 when opening the account. You must not have held a personal bank account with the bank in the 12 months before opening; as the bank has only changed its name, accounts opened in the Airstar Bank era should count as well. Each reward is limited to once per person, places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and the rewards cannot be combined with other offers outside these terms.

The rewards are issued after account opening and are valid for 30 days (including the day of issue). The HKD time deposit rate coupon requires no task and applies only to a one-month HKD time deposit of up to HK$50,000, at the board rate on the bank's website plus 18% p.a.; the coupon can be used only once, cannot be combined with other rate coupons, and no bonus interest is paid if the deposit is withdrawn before maturity. The US$20 of NVDA shares requires you to open an investment account and activate US share trading, and is usually credited 5 to 10 trading days after the task is completed; the number of shares is calculated at the prevailing market price (or the previous trading day's closing price when the market is closed), and the bank bears the trading costs of issuing the shares, while any later costs of holding or selling them are borne by the customer. Promotional materials may describe this reward as about HK$150 or HK$156; for valuation, the US$20 figure applies.

The three cash vouchers each require a task to be completed within their validity period. The HK$100 fund voucher requires a single fund purchase of at least HK$10,000 and average daily total assets of at least HK$10,000 over 30 days; the HK$100 stock voucher requires three share purchases of at least HK$0.01 each, in any market; and the HK$30 spending voucher requires cumulative eligible retail spending of HK$300, including spending through Apple Pay and Google Pay but excluding Octopus top-ups, bill payments, e-wallet top-ups, financial transactions and gambling. Once a voucher is redeemed, the cash rebate is credited to the savings account.

When the rewards are issued, the customer must still hold a valid account; if the account is closed within 12 months of opening, the bank is entitled to claw back the equivalent value of the rewards. The bank may also substitute other gifts or cash rebates of equivalent value.

W2JRF5 is this site's invite code. It does not add to the referred person's rewards: the five rewards above are the bank's standard welcome offer for the period.

The value of the rate coupon depends on the amount deposited and the number of days. At the HK$50,000 cap, 18.10% p.a. (the 0.10% board rate plus 18%) and a 365-day year, 30 days of interest comes to about HK$744, of which about HK$740 is the bonus; if a month is counted as 31 days, the figure is about HK$769. The terms do not state how many days "one month" means, so the interest shown in the app when the time deposit is placed should be taken as definitive. The bank's advertised "total value of up to HKD 1,136" matches the sum of HK$50,000 × 18% ÷ 12 (about HK$750), the NVDA shares (about HK$156) and the HK$230 of cash vouchers.

Several costs should be deducted when calculating the net value. The same HK$50,000 left in the savings account for 30 days would earn about HK$21 in interest. For the fund voucher, "total assets" include only the savings account, the cash and margin investment accounts and Money Safe balances; the terms do not list time deposits, and the 30 days run from the day the voucher is issued, so a further HK$10,000 or so must count towards total assets from account opening, bringing the funds required to about HK$60,000 for a month. If the stock voucher is completed with three US fractional share purchases of US$5, the platform fees total about US$0.15; buying Hong Kong shares instead costs at least HK$15 in platform fees and HK$1 in stamp duty per trade, or at least about HK$48 for three trades; and if new accounts do not qualify for commission-free trading, each trade costs at least a further HK$3 in commission. The spending voucher can be completed with the virtual card through Apple Pay or Google Pay, without paying HK$50 for a physical card.

Completing all five rewards is worth about HK$1,100 after these small costs, of which about two-thirds comes from the rate coupon. For those who wish only to deposit and not to invest, the rate coupon alone is worth about HK$744, but early withdrawal forfeits all of the bonus interest. The value of the NVDA shares will vary with the share price and the exchange rate; they are not cash.

An HKD time deposit may be withdrawn early in full from the day after placement until the day before maturity, but no time deposit interest is paid: interest is calculated only at the base savings rate for the period held, and an early withdrawal charge applies, being principal × (the bank's HKD Prime Rate − the time deposit rate) × remaining days ÷ days in the year, or HK$200, whichever is higher. USD and RMB time deposits are charged the equivalent of HK$200. The charge is deducted directly from the deposit, so the principal returned may be less than the amount deposited. For a HK$10,000 time deposit, the minimum charge of HK$200 already equals 2% of the principal, far more than a month's normal interest.

Other charges include HK$50 per paper monthly statement, HK$250 per bank certificate and HK$100 for each cancelled transfer or remittance. On the card, note the 1.95% foreign currency and cross-border HKD transaction fees, the 3% overseas withdrawal charge and the HK$100 transaction dispute fee. As at 11 October 2026, both the Card Service Fee Schedule and the help centre state that local ATM withdrawals are free; any later change will be as notified by the bank.

As at 11 October 2026, the Google Play version was rated 3.4 (from 1,004 ratings; last updated on 8 October). A new version of the app was listed on the Hong Kong App Store on 17 September 2026 and is rated 4.3, but from only 12 ratings; the old version is no longer available on the Hong Kong App Store, and on the US App Store it is rated 3.1 (from 74 ratings).

The more common complaints include dissatisfaction with the bank changing its name twice between April and August 2026; failed logins after the April update; the size of the app (the App Store currently lists about 959 MB); older iPhones being unable to run it (iOS 15.5 or later is required, and Android 7.0 or later); the multi-currency card not supporting renminbi; having to unlock Money Safe in person; no profit-and-loss display for investments; and requests for further information, or account restrictions, during account opening. Positive reviews focus on exchange rates, trading shares in the same app and the clean interface.

Hong Kong residents opening an account must be aged 18 or over, hold a 2018-version smart Hong Kong Identity Card (permanent or non-permanent), have a Hong Kong or mainland mobile number and a Hong Kong or mainland address, and must not be a US tax resident or US citizen. The process is to register with a mobile number, select the Hong Kong Identity Card, complete identity verification, fill in personal details and confirm the application; the bank says it can take as little as about five minutes. The investment account can be applied for at the same time as the bank account; since the NVDA reward requires the task to be completed within 30 days and investment account approval can take up to three working days, it is advisable to apply for both together. The enquiry hotline is (852) 3718 1818.

Mainland visitors may pre-fill their details online and submit the application within 90 days after arriving in Hong Kong; they must be in Hong Kong when applying and present their original identity card and a valid document recording their entry and exit. The welcome rewards apply only to those opening an account with a Hong Kong Identity Card, so the visitor route does not qualify.

The Causeway Bay store is at Shops S and X, G/F, Hong Kong Mansion, 1A–1L Yee Wo Street. It opens on 15 October 2026 and operates daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (hours may vary on public holidays), offering account-opening guidance and support with the app and account operations. Matters requiring in-person verification, such as unlocking Money Safe or changing a mobile number, must be booked in the app one day in advance. The store does not offer cash deposit or withdrawal services.

We could not find the steps for closing a personal account in the help centre; it is advisable to call the hotline if needed. If the account is closed within 12 months of opening, the bank may claw back any welcome rewards already issued.

Suitable for: people holding US dollars or several foreign currencies who would like to manage savings and currency exchange in one account; those who already trade Hong Kong and US shares and want their banking and securities services in a single app; those who need Money Safe and can travel to Causeway Bay to unlock it; and new customers with about HK$60,000 they will not need for a month who can open an account before 30 November 2026.

Not suitable for: people who frequently use a card overseas or spend in renminbi; those who need to deposit or withdraw cash; those whose phones run below iOS 15.5 or Android 7.0; US persons; and those whose funds may be needed at any time, or who do not wish to open an investment account. When comparing with other virtual banks, it is advisable to check each bank's official website on the same day for its twelve-month time deposit board rate, savings tier limits, foreign currency spending charges and whether its welcome offer requires investing.