YouTrip, a neobank offering a multi-currency mobile travel wallet, has raised US$30 million ($41.1 million) in its Series A round.
The round was driven by returning investors from major Asian family offices and prominent financial technology investors, according to YouTrip in a press statement.
The funds raised will solidify the firm’s position as the leading neobank in Southeast Asia offering B2B and B2C multi-currency payments. The capital will also boost the company’s technological capabilities to bolster its suite of payment products. This includes entering the adjacent B2B payments space, as well as driving its entrance into the wider Southeast Asian region.
Following the round, YouTrip has now raised over US$60 million in total funding following its pre Series A funding in 2019, where it raised US$25.5 million.
YouTrip has been the go-to card for consumers’ multi-currency spending, with card transactions exceeding US$800 million over 20 million transactions.
It has also seen over 1.5 million app downloads to date.
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YouTrip's transaction volume has also rebounded to pre-Covid-19 levels.
“We have transformed tremendously as a company since our last funding round. From a mobile travel wallet, we have grown to establish a strong foothold in new territories such as overseas online spending to meet the extraordinary shifts in consumer behaviours. We believe there is untapped potential in cross-border payments, and our market-leading position in this space puts us in a good place to serve more of our users’ payment needs - from travellers, to online shoppers, and now, businesses,” says Caecilia Chu, YouTrip’s CEO and co-founder.
“As a company, this latest round also gives us the resources to strengthen our multiple growth engines to stay resilient and well-primed for expansion into new vistas,” she adds.
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In the same statement, YouTrip says it has set its sights on the B2B payments ecosystem. The industry is said to be worth US$150 trillion by 2022, and has much potential with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showing a strong willingness to adopt digital banking services, specifically for cross-border payments.
On this, YouTrip has unveiled its new corporate credit card, YouBiz, which caters to businesses and promises the best value and best-in-class multi-currency payment experience.
“The product offers higher spending limits while transacting at the best exchange rates in over 150 currencies, and credit terms offered to selected business account users. Companies will also be able to issue corporate cards to employees, with all expenses streamlined into one platform,” reads the statement.
“We’re very excited about the B2B payments opportunity. It is a segment with a deep market, as companies increasingly operate in a distributed and borderless manner and we expect their cross-border payment needs to go up. By incorporating our company’s core strengths of offering the best exchange rates and an extremely easy to use interface into YouBiz, we help businesses save time and cost, so that they can focus their energy and efforts in finding growth,” says Arthur Mak, co-founder, YouTrip.
Photo: YouTrip
