Singapore-based multi-currency digital wallet YouTrip raises $50m in Series B funding round
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YouTrip, a Singapore-based provider of multi-currency digital wallets, recently conducted a Series B funding round, concluding it as a major success. The company managed to raise around $50 million.
The round was led by Lightspeed Ventures, and in total, the fintech managed to raise as much as $105.5 million in funding. While this round raised half of that amount, the company previously raised $30 million in 2021 and another $25.5 million two years before that, in 2019.
YouTrip plans a major expansion
YouTrip initially launched five years ago, in 2018. At the time, it emerged as a multi-currency payments app, which doubled as a prepaid Mastercard for frequent travelers. At this time, the company operates in Thailand and Singapore.
The company claims that it managed to reach operational profitability, and it now intends to use the newly raised funds for hiring additional team members. Specifically, it said that it plans to hire 100 new positions as it expands its services to new Southeast Asian markets, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The company also says that it now processes around $10 billion in payments per year. The majority of its transactions are coming from the consumer side. Meanwhile, its B2B spend management product, YouBiz, which went live in May 2022, has onboarded over 3,000 small business enterprises since its launch.
A post-Covid recovery allowed YouTrip to rise
Caecilia Chu, the company’s CEO, stated that it is important to show investors that the firm has a solid business model, especially under the current climate. The company also wants to prove it to itself and show that it is capable of scaling in a sustainable manner.
Proving this is important to the company, especially since similar firms that operate in the same sector have been struggling over the past several years. Some were forced to lay off hundreds or even thousands of employees, while others had to file for bankruptcy, unable to sustain themselves under the current market conditions.
Chu, who is also the firm’s co-founder, added that the growth that the company has seen comes off the back of a post-pandemic recovery in travel and a strong market fit for YouTrip’s services. She also said that the company saw a sizable uptick in usage and contribution to its overall business. “We see vast opportunities in the B2B payment sector as businesses become increasingly global and require cross-border payment solutions that help them accelerate their growth.”
However, the space remains highly competitive, with several players such as Sunrate and Airwallex also trying to secure solutions that would serve their companies’ payment needs.
