Tag: YouTrip

Singapore – Singapore’s multi currency digital payments platform YouTrip has recently announced that it has raised US$50 million in its latest Series B fundraising round, led by new investor and global venture capital firm Lightspeed. 

The sizable investment by Lightspeed is a vote of confidence in YouTrip’s ability to deliver innovative and hyperlocal solutions, and its leadership in building a scalable business strategy to tap into the vast market opportunity in Southeast Asia.

The new capital will be used to further propel the company’s growth trajectory by investing in more technologies to deepen product and innovation capabilities, and expanding its regional team by hiring over a hundred new talents as it launches in new markets across Southeast Asia. 

Committed to its mission of providing accessible, convenient, and seamless digital payment services, YouTrip specifically aims to expand its regional presence across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Furthermore, YouTrip also plans to grow its portfolio of services to help SMEs accelerate their cross-border growth plans in the digital economy. This includes enhancing its current expense management capabilities as well as introducing new features such as credit lines to cater to the diverse needs of businesses as they expand and grow.

Caecilia Chu, CEO and co-founder of YouTrip, said, “The latest funding round is YouTrip’s largest to date and is a testament to our strong potential in the B2B and B2C payment spaces. We are confident in our ability to catalyse the growth of cross-border commerce, bringing accessible, integrated and seamless digital payment services to millions of users across Southeast Asia and beyond.”

Arthur Mak, co-founder and chief product officer of YouTrip, also added, “We remain committed to developing hyper-personalised offerings that meet the unique needs of our users, and are excited to bring our innovative payment solutions to diverse markets in Southeast Asia so that more can enjoy the intuitive convenience and cost-saving benefits effectuated by our B2B and B2C products.” 

Meanwhile, Pinn Lawjindakul, partner at Lightspeed, commented, “My personal experience of the pain point reinforces my conviction in what the YouTrip team has built. Their multi-currency digital payments platform enables everyone to have a safer, smarter and superior experience with foreign currencies and digital payments. We are excited by their depth and vision, and look forward to partnering them in this next phase of growth and expansion.”

Singapore – Multi-currency e-wallet YouTrip has announced its ‘YouTrip 2.0’ revamp, which includes a refreshed look and feel to its signature card and mobile app interface. 

The improved app now features an even more intuitive interface where users can easily manage their expenses, enjoy favourable exchange rates for over 150 currencies and other YouTrip perks within one integrated platform.

Moreover, users are also greeted with a new card design – a modernised upgrade from the initial launched five years ago. The new card accents a transparent window that symbolises the limitless possibilities YouTrip users can experience with their trusted travel payment companion. 

Under ‘YouTrip 2.0’, users will now receive a complimentary virtual card immediately upon application’s approval. This allows new users to enjoy rates for all online payments without having to wait for the arrival of their physical card.

Caecilia Chu, CEO and co-founder of YouTrip, said, “With the increasing adoption and reliance on digital wallet, users’ needs and expectations have also evolved over the years. YouTrip 2.0 is part of the company’s agile and iterative approach to product development and improvement based on user feedback, and market trends and preferences as we embark on our fifth year with the Singapore market.”

She added, “Equipped with enhanced security features, the improved app and modernised physical card is part of YouTrip’s ongoing efforts to build a secure, borderless multi-currency e-wallet that promises the best rates, all day.”

Singapore – YouBiz, the corporate card and finance management platform by YouTrip, has announced their strategic partnership with cloud-based accounting software provider Xero. Said partnership aimed at reducing operational costs remains amongst SMEs in the Southeast Asian region.

It also aims to equip local businesses and startups with more capabilities to manage their corporate expenses efficiently through the integration of Xero’s accounting software.

Through this integration, YouBiz users can unlock automated sync on all multi-currency accounts with Xero, reducing manual reconciliation of expenses and erroneous accounting entries. YouBiz users who are new to Xero can also enjoy 50% off on any Xero accounting plan for 6 months.

Caecilia Chu, co-founder and CEO at YouTrip has expressed their excitement with said partnership, remarking that with growing inflation and rising prices, finance automation platforms with enhanced accounting capabilities will allow SMEs to cut down on operational costs significantly and redirect valuable funds and resources towards their global expansion plans.

“With Xero on board, YouBiz users will have better control and greater visibility over their business spending. And as we continue to be a valuable and reliable partner to SMEs, YouBiz will strive to forge more partnerships with digital brands and businesses that SMEs work with, to bring more returns and cost savings beneficial to companies, and aid them in their digitalisation efforts,” Chu said.

Singapore – Singapore’s local fintech YouTrip is marking its fourth year with a reality TV show-themed celebration that will be running for the whole month of August. Called ‘BirthdayTrippin’ Season 4, each campaign activity, or ‘episode’, will be offering a different experience and surprise, and the ‘contestants’ will be YouTrip users themselves.

YouTrip said its focus for ‘BirthdayTrippin’ is to celebrate with its users through interactive experiences and fun giveaways. 

Episode 1, which is ‘Get Your Trip On’, is an online giveaway on Instagram to reward users, which will run from 8 – 22 August. Meanwhile, Episode 2, called ‘Life’s a Beach’, is an outdoor brand activation at Raffles Green to engage with YouTrip’s audiences, which will be live from 17-19 August. 

On the other hand, Episode 3, the ‘Finders’ Keepers’ episode will be a hybrid activity where users are encouraged to participate in an islandwide ‘treasure hunt’. YouTrip cards will be hidden around Singapore where location hints will be given online via Instagram Stories. This will take place every Wednesday, from 10 – 31 August. 

And ultimately, for ‘The Finale’, YouTrip concludes the ‘reality tv show’ with a one-night-only birthday bash. The last ‘episode’ will happen on 31 August.

YouTrip, dubbed as Singapore’s first multi-currency wallet with linked Mastercard, has become top-of-mind amongst users through its unique fintech offerings and highly engaging marketing. 

At the height of the pandemic lockdown, the neobank was one of the platforms that fast leveraged the use of TikTok to share helpful lifestyle content such as on travel and food.

Just May of this year, YouTrip officially entered the B2B space with the launch of its corporate card for SMEs.

Singapore – After Singaporean neobank YouTrip hinted on the launch of its new B2B product, the fintech officially unveiled YouBiz, its corporate credit card for SMEs, in partnership with Mastercard. This development follows YouTrip’s recent US$30m Series A funding.

The new product is integrated with a unified control centre bringing together multi-currency accounts, local and domestic transfers, corporate expense management, and credit features in a single hub.

YouBiz offers SMEs unlimited cashback on all spends with no cap, eliminating the need to manage and optimise their spending types. Together with savings from YouBiz’s zero foreign currency transaction fees, companies can rack up additional funds to power other business operations. Spending and managing individual employee expenses is also convenient with YouBiz’s ability to generate physical and unlimited virtual cards for payments in over 150 currencies at more than 80 million Mastercard merchants worldwide, online and in-store. This not only reduces the risk of card-sharing, custom spend limits on each card also prevent employees from overspending.

Moreover, YouBiz allows SMEs to receive, hold, and spend in nine currencies currently and make an immediate exchange at competitive rates and no fees. Doing business is also more accessible than ever with free local transfers and low, transparent pricing for international remittance. All transactions are delivered and streamlined in YouBiz’s unified control centre, making expense management and reconciliation a seamless process.

Arthur Mak, YouTrip’s co-founder and chief product officer, said that the concept of borders has blurred during the pandemic as SMEs increasingly do business internationally, and their cross-border payment needs are definitely going to rise – yet, many of their financial needs remain unmet due to the lack of a tailored financial solution. 

“Our continued partnership with Mastercard empowers us to establish YouBiz as a valuable and reliable partner for SMEs to grow beyond borders. Promising efficient and purpose-built financial solutions at the best value, we help businesses save time and cost as they focus on scaling worldwide,” added Mak.

YouBiz is also introducing a credit facility that offers flexible business financing to SMEs. Combining transactional data and machine learning, YouBiz allows businesses to obtain unsecured and collateral-free term loans with no hidden or early repayment fees. The application is fuss-free and loans are disbursed seamlessly into the YouBiz account within 48 hours.

In addition, YouBiz has collaborated with Google to provide businesses with direct support for digital marketing services, and established travel partners like Agoda, Booking.com, and Qatar Airways on additional savings for travel expenditure, especially as business travel resumes.

Mak shared that they have invested heavily in building their multi-currency technology infrastructure and obtaining a full set of licences for YouBiz. 

“Having this control over our value chain enables us to offer the most customisable and cost-effective financial solutions for businesses. We look forward to partnering closely with SMEs to innovate and customise our offerings to meet their shifting demands,” said Mak.

Meanwhile, Deborah Heng, Mastercard’s country manager for Singapore, noted that partnering with YouTrip on this innovative product will complement the work Mastercard has already done to help SMEs drive their overall digital transformation and harness the opportunity of rapid growth in online marketplaces. 

“As these digital merchants expand their business across borders, they will come to recognise both the competitive advantage and the savings they will enjoy from zero foreign exchange fees, unlimited cashback, integrated expense, and cashflow management. YouBiz also comes at a fitting time with the recent uptick in global travel and accelerated e-commerce growth, further supporting SMEs to scale and transact easily, both locally and abroad,” said Heng.

Singapore – Local-based neobank YouTrip is planning to enter the adjacent B2B payments space. This was first revealed by YouTrip when they announced the brand’s major plans last September which included unveiling their goal of a brand refresh for 2022. 

The brand reiterated its foray to the B2B space alongside the new funding it secured, bagging US$30m in a series A funding. The fresh funds put its total funding at over US$60m since it launched in 2018. The company said that the funding will also be used to accelerate its entrance into the wider Southeast Asia region. 

At the core of their B2B offering is YouBiz, a corporate credit card which will offer higher spending limits while transacting at exchange rates in over 150 currencies with credit terms offered to selected business account users. Within its sighted B2B alignment, YouTrip will also allow companies to issue corporate cards to employees, with all expenses streamlined into one platform.

YouBiz will be rolled out in Singapore in the first quarter of 2022, and with plans to bring it to five other Southeast Asia countries in the next twelve months.

For Caecilia Chu, CEO and co-founder at YouTrip, the latest funding gives them the resources to strengthen their multiple growth engines in order to stay resilient and well-primed for expansion into new markets.

“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 behaviors. 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 travelers, to online shoppers, and now, businesses,” Chu explained.

Meanwhile, Arthur Mak, co-founder at YouTrip, commented , “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.”

Singapore – Singapore’s multicurrency e-wallet YouTrip revealed in a press announcement that it will be undergoing a brand rehaul, slated for early 2022. 

The advanced announcement comes as the fintech unveils its plans to establish an innovation lab in Singapore to fast-track its technology capabilities and product development. The fintech shared that the new lab will see its workforce double by 2022 which will be crucial in driving the development of a new suite of multicurrency products including the new brand identity. 

YouTrip’s brand proposition is to offer the best mobile financial services by simplifying foreign currency payments and offering the best exchange rates. With the new branding, the fintech aims to reflect its transformation from a travel wallet to a broader digital payments app that drives its mission of simplifying multicurrency spending. 

Together with a new brand debut, YouTrip will also be redesigned with new features such as a virtual card, an interactive exchange rates dashboard, and also YouTrip exclusive deals, as well as the ability to hold more popular currencies in the wallet.

YouTrip also revealed the launch of another product YouTrip Business, likewise to be released in early 2022. 

YouTrip Business is a new multicurrency corporate credit card aimed at helping companies of all sizes save money and time on cross-border payments. Compared to the consumer product, the new business card promises higher spending limits while transacting at the best exchange rates in over currencies, with credit terms offered to selected business account users. YouTrip Business will also enable companies to issue multicurrency cards to employees. 

Caecilia Chu, co-founder and CEO of YouTrip, commented that despite the travel standstill, there has been continued significant growth in overseas online spending which underscores the importance of cross-border payments for consumers and businesses.

According to YouTrip’s own cross-border e-commerce study for 2021, there has been an 84% year-on-year increase in online overseas purchases by Singaporean users from the period of July 2020 to June 2021.

Chu said, “With this shift in spending, our advancement in innovation to offer a wider suite of multicurrency is timely, and drives our goal of elevating the cross-border payment experience for our users in Singapore and the region. We are incredibly excited to embark on this next phase of our business growth and Singapore’s developed tech ecosystem provides the conducive conditions to propel this forward.”

She adds, “Singapore is a special place to us, being the first market where we introduced YouTrip to the world…we look forward to driving the next generation of cross-border payment innovations, and to help build a stronger pipeline of talents that will fortify Singapore’s position as a global fintech hub.”

Singapore – YouTrip, Singapore’s multi-currency mobile wallet has forged a partnership with Visa, to accelerate its expansion to the rest of Southeast Asia, starting with Malaysia and the Philippines. 

Currently operating in Singapore and Thailand, the partnership comes a year after YouTrip’s first regional expansion to Thailand in partnership with Kasikornbank, one of Thailand’s largest banks. 

YouTrip believes the new partnership presents an opportunity to solve a unique pain point for Southeast Asian travelers, with regional travel poised to be the first step towards international travel recovery. 

“Unlike regional travel in other parts of the world such as Europe or the United States of America, traveling within Southeast Asia requires multi-currency spending. Coupled with the year-long pent up demand for travel and cross-border payment, this puts YouTrip in good stead for further expansion,” said the company in a press statement.  

It added, “Leveraging on Visa’s global network of 70 million merchant locations worldwide, YouTrip aims to enable Southeast Asia travelers with access to cross border payment solutions such as wholesale exchange rates and no foreign currency transaction fees in over 150 currencies.” 

YouTrip looks to Malaysia and the Philippines as the next potential markets in the next six to 12 months, where the company, referring to a PwC report, said both countries are two of the fastest-growing Southeast Asian countries in mobile payment adoption. 

Caecilia Chu, co-founder, and CEO of YouTrip shared, “Our partnership with Visa will enable our continued growth to drive the next generation of payment innovation of cross border payments. We are incredibly excited for the opportunities ahead to serve millions of consumers in Southeast Asia and empower them with the solutions they deserve.”

Kelvin Lam, regional general Manager of YouTrip, added, “In a short span of two years, we have established YouTrip as a leading multi-currency wallet in both Singapore and Thailand. With our strong foundation, we look forward to combining our market-winning expertise along with Visa’s payment innovations to the rest of Southeast Asia, starting with Malaysia and Philippines,” 

Meanwhile, Visa’s Head of Digital Partnerships for Asia Pacific Matt Wood commented, “We are excited to work with YouTrip across Southeast Asia to provide consumers and businesses with a multi-currency payment solution that is ideal for international eCommerce and cross-border travel. Together, we look forward to bringing faster, safer, and more convenient digital payments to people across the region.”

Singapore – As Singapore’s multi-currency mobile wallet YouTrip reaches its four-month mark in the short video platform TikTok, it shared how it maxes out the platform’s massive userbase to stay present in consumers’ minds. 

YouTrip established its TikTok account in June of this year, and as of current, it has a total of 32.5k followers and has garnered 691.3k likes across its videos.

YouTrip’s service comes with a prepaid Mastercard and enables users to pay in over 150 currencies with no fees. Branded as a “travel” wallet, its TikTok videos circle lifestyle content, such as tips on how to enjoy international destinations such as Spain, a list of the “coolest” Apple shops, and how one can get a taste of travel through whipping up different versions of super grain bowls. 

The brand revealed that it uses a two-pronged approach to leverage its presence in TikTok: making informative content and staying relevant to trends.

For valuable content, it adopted a strategy of adapting original blog articles that had performed well to the TikTok format. During the firm’s content planning process, it identified e-commerce shopping guides and hotel reviews as such. One of its most successful TikTok videos featured a guide to get the “Cheapest Nintendo Switch,” garnering over 119k views to date.

@youtripsg

If you know someone looking to buy a Nintendo Switch, share this with them! 💜👆🏼👀 #nintendoswitch #gaming #videogames #youtripsg #foryoupage #fyp

♬ original sound – YouTrip SG – YouTrip SG

In terms of staying within the wave of trends, YouTrip identified that it is vital to be the first-mover in driving reactive content on trending topics, audios, or hashtags.

Hopping onto the challenges bandwagon, YouTrip took an informative spin on the challenge featuring the trending song Kings and Queens by American singer Ava Max. In such challenge, users showcased culture and traditional costumes. YouTrip took the opportunity to emphasize its branding on travel and culture, and published a version featuring real queens from around the world. The rendition garnered over two million views and 12.8k followers in two weeks.

@youtripsg

We stan a true queen 👸. Like for part 2! #learnontiktok #youtripsg #kingsandqueens #queen

♬ original sound – YouTrip SG – YouTrip SG

The brand shared that by driving travel content, it also aims to strengthen its brand positioning to remain top-of-mind for when travel rebounds.

Head of Marketing Jeremy Lim said that curating meaningful content that resonates with users has been the core of YouTrip’s marketing strategies.

“Our venture into TikTok allows us to tap into our creativity to find new ways to connect with our users. We encourage brands to consider including TikTok in their marketing mix as well if they aim to establish themselves as relatable and reliable,” he said.

Chew Wee Ng, head of SEA business marketing at TikTok also commented, “TikTok is about embracing the creative, positive, and real moments that make our community so special, with solutions for businesses to connect and grow with our wonderfully expressive community.”

Ng also emphasized that with the right content strategy and a touch of authenticity, any brand can find success on the global stage with TikTok.

“YouTrip’s rapid growth on the platform is a prime example. As one of the first movers, they’ve incorporated TikTok early into their marketing mix and are now reaping its successes through a customized content strategy, collaboration with the TikTok community, and growing with a global audience,” said Ng.

Singapore — YouTrip conducted the Travel Intent Survey 2020 to analyze post-COVID-19 travel intentions of 6,000 Singaporeans. The survey aimed to understand the outlook of travel recovery and changes to travel behaviors of Singaporeans as a result of the pandemic.

First Travel Destination

With less than 6 months till the end of the year, slightly more than half of the respondents (54%) indicated that they’ll be traveling in 2020 as soon as travel restrictions lift. Another 20% of Singaporeans would be enticed to travel in 2020 if there’s an attractive promotion, suggesting that both border restrictions and prices spur travel recovery. Among Singaporeans with immediate travel intentions within 2020, millennial travelers aged 25 to 34 years old are the most adventurous (35%). Comparatively, only 22% of travelers aged 35 to 44 years and 11% of travelers aged 55 to 64 years old expect to travel within the year.

Caecilia Chu, Co-Founder and CEO of YouTrip said: “It’s encouraging to see signs of travel recovering after months of pent up demand. Within our community of users, many of them are avid travelers who I believe will be amongst the first movers for the initial travel recovery.”

Caecilia Chu, Co-Founder and CEO of YouTrip
Caecilia Chu, Co-Founder and CEO of YouTrip

Popular countries like Japan (23%), Thailand (12%), and Malaysia (11%) remain top choices for Singaporeans, followed by Australia (8%), South Korea (7%), Taiwan (6%), Mainland China (5%), New Zealand (4%), Indonesia (4%), and Vietnam (2%). As for COVID-19 hotspot countries, 25% more Singaporeans are willing to travel there in the first half of 2021 (40%) as compared to 2020 (15%), signaling a gradual recovery of tourism in the most affected countries.

The New-Normal in Travelling

As an indicator of the pent up demand for travel, 85% of Singaporeans are prepared to spend more on their next holiday. 4 in 10 Singaporeans are willing to budget 30% or more for their upcoming travel plans as a way to compensate previously canceled plans.

The Chief Economist from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Brian Pearce estimates that flight tickets will cost 43% to 54% higher than previous prices due to in-flight social distancing policies. Even though Singaporeans have expressed their enthusiasm for their next holiday, most of them are value-driven when it comes to transport expenses. 72% of respondents said they will be deterred by higher flight ticket prices and would wait for promotional prices before making their travel plans.

This is echoed in 58% of respondents stating that promotional prices will entice them to resume traveling in 2020, further suggesting that Singaporeans are value-driven. “Pay Now, Travel Later” promotions seem to be a viable option for Singaporeans, with more than 70% indicating that they will be keen to purchase if the discounts are at least half-priced or more. Other factors that could influence their purchase include the flexibility of stay and eligibility for full refunds.

“We’re taking the time to anticipate and understand the new-normal of travel, and the different ways it’ll impact travelers. With this understanding, YouTrip will be ready to better serve our users’ needs once travel resumes,” Caecilia adds.

Alternatives to Travel Plans

In view of canceled travel plans in 2020, 28% of respondents stated that they’ll be saving the money instead. Local staycation (15%), shopping (14%), and visiting local tourist attractions (5%) are amongst alternative options for Singaporeans.