• YouTrip is Singapore's first multi-currencymobile wallet with a prepaid Mastercard® that offers zero transaction feesacross 150+ currencies at wholesale exchange rates
• US$25.5m raised from major Asian familyoffices and venture capital firm Insignia Ventures Partners, the largestpre-Series A fintech funding round in Southeast Asia
• Over 200,000 downloads and 1 milliontransactions processed 10 months since launch
• Funding will drive development ofYouTrip's technical payment infrastructure, launch of new product features andits regional expansion plans in Southeast Asia 

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 16 May2019 - YouTrip , Singapore's firstmulti-currency mobile wallet with a prepaid Mastercard ^®, has successfully raisedUS$25.5m in a pre-Series A fundraise. Participating investors include majorAsian family offices and venture capital firm Insignia Ventures Partners,founded by ex-Sequoia Partner Yinglan Tan. This marks the largest pre-Series Afunding round for a fintech startup operating in Southeast Asia.

YouTrip co-founders, Arthur Mak and Caecilia Chu

The YouTrip team in Hong Kong office

 

Launched in August 2018, YouTrip is amulti-currency mobile wallet s pecially designed with travellers in mind, allow ing users to pay in over 150 currencies with no hidden fees and at wholesaleexchange rates . The mobile app also allows for the exchange and storage of 10 selectedcurrencies in advance through the in-app exchange feature. The YouTrip mobile application works with a linkedpre-paid Mastercard ^® -- issued by EZ-Link -- and can be used to make payments atmore than 30 million Mastercard accepting merchants worldwide.

Fuelled by growing purchasingpower and more affordable travel options , Southeast Asia's population of over 650 million peoplerepresents one of the largest and fastest growing outboundtravellers market globally - it is expected to totalUS$80 billion in outbound travel expenditure by 2020, up from US$67 billion in2018 or a 10% CAGR. Singapore is the biggest contributor to this region, withSingaporeans being one of the most frequent travellers and biggest travelspenders globally.

Caecilia Chu, co- f ounder and CEO of YouTrip said, "As a frequent traveller, I wassurprised with how much banks mark up on overseas transactions - this was amongthe many reasons why I started YouTrip with Arthur Mak, who is alsoChairman of YouTrip . As the regional travel industrycontinues to post robust growth, YouTrip recognises the pain points oftravellers and equally, the immense opportunity to better serve their financialneeds. We are dedicated to creating the best mobile financial services fortravellers by simplifying overseas spending and creating a fuss-free travelexperience."

Pachara Lawjindakul, Principal at InsigniaVentures Partners added, "The fintech space in Southeast Asia is developing ata relentless pace to meet evolving consumer expectations and the travelindustry represents an immense untapped market at the intersection of thisgrowth. YouTrip is led by an experienced team of founders and executive teamwho are perfectly positioned to capitalise on this opportunity. The success ofthe initial launch in Singapore provides a great foundation to develop a strongroadmap for growing the multi-currency and cross-border payments ecosystem inSoutheast Asia."

Bank-issued credit and debit cardstypically carry an overseas transaction fee that can be as high as 3.5%. O verseaspurchases made with credit cards also usually entail a Dynamic CurrencyConversion markup, sometimes going as high as 5% or more. YouTrip does not charge any overseas transaction fees nor markup on foreign exchange conversion .  

With the injection of funds,YouTrip is looking to invest heavily in technology innovation to furtherdevelop its technical payment infrastructure and roll out new product features.Having established a foothold in Singapore, it has also set its sights onfurther expansion in Southeast Asia and developing localised solutions for theregion's growing class of travellers.

Since its launch in August 2018,the YouTrip mobile application has achieved over 20 0,000 downloads, processed over 1 million transactions, and has grownits team to 70 people in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Users may sign up for a YouTripaccount by downloading its app from the App Store or Google Play. No minimumaccount balance is required and registration is free. Any credit or debit card c anbe used to top up the e-wallet, which has a maximum stored value of S$3,000.All registered users receive a physical prepaid Mastercard, free of charge.Find out more at www.you.co

About YouTrip

YouTrip is a regional financial technology startup based in Singaporeand Hong Kong, dedicated to creating the best mobile financial services fortravellers by simplifying overseas spending and creating a fuss-free travelexperience. YouTrip's mission is to help people across Southeast Asia managetheir money in a simpler yet smarter way, starting with a core focus ontravellers. YouTrip partnered with EZ-Link and Mastercard to launch inSingapore in August 2018.

For more information, visit: www.you.co

About Insignia Venture Partners

Insignia Ventures Partners is aSingapore-headquartered early stage technology venture fund focusing onSoutheast Asia and manages more than US$150 million from sovereign wealthfunds, foundations, university endowments and renowned family offices.