HONG KONG, February 9, 2026 — Kea, the neobanking group reimagining business finance via its “human-touch” framework, today revealed a significant strategic push into the Asian market. Making its debut at Consensus 2026, Kea seeks to tear down the barriers that have created a $2.5 trillion Trade Finance Gap in the region—one that has left innovative SMEs underserved by traditional financial entities.
As global banking grows more automated, a risky “compliance vacuum” has developed. Innovative Asian companies often encounter “algorithmic exclusion”—a scenario where inflexible, AI-only compliance systems halt valid cross-border transactions without context or a way to appeal. Kea’s entry signals a return to Human Intelligence (HI) as a high-value service.
Solving the SME Crisis
Traditional banks frequently turn away SMEs and tech scale-ups over concerns about high risk and low profit margins. This risk avoidance has led to a multi-trillion-dollar gap in trade finance. Kea addresses this by offering:
- Contextual Compliance: Unlike “Black Box” AI, Kea’s human specialists assess complex cases to ensure innovative business models aren’t hindered by outdated algorithms.
- Fast-Track Onboarding: Cutting the months-long wait times at traditional banks down to just a few days for corporate accounts.
- The Asia-Global Corridor: Smooth integration of multi-currency IBANs and stablecoin liquidity to enable real-time trade between Asia and the rest of the globe.
“The $2.5 trillion trade finance gap isn’t a tech failure—it’s an empathy failure,” states Mark Berkovich, CEO at Kea. “Traditional banks are too afraid to work with SMEs, and digital banks are too automated to grasp their needs. At Kea, we use technology to move money, but we rely on humans to build trust. We’re attending Consensus to show Asia’s founders they finally have a partner who understands them.”
Kea will demonstrate its hybrid model at Consensus 2026, providing exclusive previews of its localized Asian payment infrastructure for institutional partners and high-growth founders.
About Kea
Kea is a global neobanking group designed for the modern economy. By combining a proprietary high-performance core with a dedicated “Human-Touch” service layer, Kea delivers the infrastructure businesses need to scale internationally—free from the hurdles of legacy banking or the impersonality of full automation.
Media Contact
Olha Hryhorievska
CMO at Kea
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