A Singapore-based company called YouTrip which offers online payment in multiple currencies is seeking to expand its digital wallet operations in South-east Asia, including Malaysia. — Picture courtesy of Facebook.com/YouTripSG
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — A Singapore-based company called YouTrip which offers online payment in multiple currencies is seeking to expand its digital wallet operations in South-east Asia.
Currently available only in Singapore and Thailand, its CEO Caecilia Chu told Japan-based English-language daily Nikkei Asia that it will be entering Malaysia “in a few months”, but gave no specific time frame.
“We’ve always wanted to target all of South-east Asia,” she was quoted as saying in a news report published today.
Chu said her company is working with a local financial partner for its Malaysia entry, without providing details.
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She also said that South-east Asia provides much opportunity for a dominant financial technology (fintech) player to emerge.
“And when we look at the fintech (space), China was quite ahead of the task," Chu said.
“But we felt South-east Asia was very interesting... as there wasn’t one giant fintech,” Chu told the newspaper.
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She said her company is working on speeding up its presence in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Nikkei Asia reported YouTrip had announced earlier today that it managed to raise another US$50 million (RM239.4 million) in funding, led by a US-based venture capital firm, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
According to Nikkei Asia, Lightspeed Venture has invested in tech firms Snap, owned by Snapchat, and Stripe.
Singapore-based news outlet Channel News Asia previously reported that YouTrip raised US$30 million in 2021 and US$25.5 million in 2019.
YouTrip was launched five years ago. Its e-wallet lets individuals and businesses top up their balance through bank transfers or credit cards and convert them into more than 150 currencies with no exchange fees or transaction limits, compared to fees charged by banks or licensed money lenders.
YouTrip takes a cut from the merchant processing fees when users make transactions through its app or prepaid cards at physical stores, instead of charging the conversion fees.
The catch is that there is a limit on how much users can put inside their e-wallet, according to Nikkei Asia.
In Singapore, where it holds a local payments licence, users can hold up to S$5,000 in their digital wallet.
The app allows ATM withdrawals of up to SG$400 a month with no charge.
In Thailand the company partners with Kasikornbank, one of the country's major lenders.
