YouTrip, a Singapore-based multi-currency digital payments platform, has on Thursday announced it has raised $50 million in its latest Series B fundraising round, led by new investor and global venture capital firm Lightspeed.
This brings YouTrip’s total funds raised to over $100 million since inception, YouTrip said in a statement.
According to the statement, 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 aims to expand its regional presence across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The firm 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.
“The latest funding round is YouTrip’s largest to date and is a testament to our strong potential in the business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) payment spaces,” said Caecilia Chu, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of YouTrip.
She is confident in the firm’s ability to catalyze the growth of cross-border commerce, bringing accessible, integrated and seamless digital payment services to millions of users across Southeast Asia and beyond.
“YouTrip launched in 2018 with the bold vision to empower everyone with a smarter and more convenient way to pay in foreign currency,
Meanwhile, YouTrip Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Arthur Mak said that the firm believes that technology and payment innovation are key to empowering consumers and businesses to thrive in the digital economy.
“We have built a payment ecosystem that empowers the safe, seamless and efficient movement of money, regardless of location,
“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,” he added.
YouTrip is a firm in the Southeast Asian fintech and digital payment space offering a smarter and more convenient way to pay with the best exchange rates in 150+ currencies, with no fees and hidden charges.
In 2022, YouTrip expanded into B2B payments with YouBiz, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups to power their cross-border payments with industry-leading foreign exchange (FX) payment infrastructure and affordable spend management.
The firm continues to be consumers’ digital wallet of choice for FX transactions, driven by post-pandemic travel recovery and the continued growth of e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
It has also quadrupled the number of card spend processed globally since the previous round of funding.
YouBiz, the company’s corporate card and spend management platform for SMEs, has also achieved significant milestones since its launch in May last year.
Within its first year, YouBiz has onboarded over 3,000 enterprises and aims to double the number by 2024.
YouTrip said that the sizable investment by Lightspeed is a vote of confidence in the firm’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.
“My personal experience of the pain point reinforces my conviction in what the YouTrip team has built,” said Pinn Lawjindakul, Partner at Lightspeed.
According to her, the firm’s 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,” she added.
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