Singapore-based fintech YouTrip picks up $50M led by Lightspeed
Summary
YouTrip, a Singapore-based fintech that offers multicurrency wallet for consumers and business accounts with corporate cards for SMEs, has its eyes on growth throughout Southeast Asia after landing a Series B led by Lightspeed. Many are in the tech industry, including IT providers and startups that tend to be early adopters of new digital products, but Chu says YouTrip has also seen traction from more traditional sectors like travel agencies and healthcare.The most common use cases for YouBiz include business travel, and digital marketing spend, because Google, Facebook and subscription tools are generally billed in USD, and the card gives SMEs FX savings. Chu says e-commerce is becoming increasingly important for YouBiz because of its YouBiz perks program, which works with partners to give customers cash-back deals and is meant to encourage more frequent and larger transactions.Tailwinds giving YouTrip a growth advantage include the continuing digitization of SMEs and consumer habits, which was accelerated by the pandemic.In terms of product development, YouTrip plans to increase its use of AI and other emerging technologies for personalized features like smart budgeting and customized financial insights. For YouBiz, the company will grow its portfolio of services for SMEs cross-border growth plans, including new features for its expense management capabilities and adding credit lines.In addition to accelerating its international market expansion, Chu is excited by new regulations in Singapore that will raise e-wallet transaction caps by three or four times.We feel is it is a great opportunity for us to build more for existing customers, so we are going to add more FX related services in theres, including overseas transfers, overseas receiving money and more when the wallet limit increased, she says.One of YouTrips and YouBizs differentiators from other multicurrency wallets and SME accounts/corporate cards is their focus on localization, she says. We are one of the very few SME fintechs that own our own licenses and a proprietary tech stack.In an investor statement, Lightspeed partner Pinn Lawjindakul said, My personal experience of the pain point reinforced my conviction in what the YouTrip deal has built.