In 2019, we wrote an update piece on MoneyMatch, a local fintech startup on their pivot from a P2P platform to a digital platform that allowed customers to send their funds abroad without the need of a middleman. Adrian Yap, CEO of MoneyMatch said the pivot was a necessary move because people needed a faster and more efficient way to send money overseas.
Back then, one of the milestones of the company was to hit RM1 billion in transacted value on the platform. And fast forward to today, the team revealed that they’ve helped customers transact over RM2.3 billion since its inception in 2017.
While that is a feat on its own, it’s not the only achievement the team is celebrating in 2021.
MoneyMatch recently announced that they’ve successfully closed their Series A Funding, raising RM18.5 million in two rounds, initially led by Cradle Seed Ventures in 2019 and KAF Investment Bank earlier this year.
With the pandemic supercharging the demand for faster and safer low-touch solutions, e-commerce and fintech players such as MoneyMatch knew they had to step up and offer more solutions for their customers.
In a press release, MoneyMatch revealed their plans to expand into Singapore and Hong Kong by the end of 2021, after already expanding to Australia and Brunei thus far. To further understand the ambitions and the goals of the company, we spoke with Naysan Munusamy, one of its co-founders.
Building the brand in other nations
“Singapore and Hong Kong actually represent two of our top ten business destination corridors, so it’s natural for us to progress, to gain our own licensing and foothold in these countries to optimise connectivity and expand our offerings,” said Naysan.
With 80% of their transactions being B2B through clients from a wide range of industries like trade importers and technology businesses, the expansion into these popular trade centres only made sense. Once they’ve built up their presence there, Naysan said they can then expand further and cover a larger addressable market beyond Asia.
But despite all the talk of servicing larger trade economies, he said their heart still puts Malaysia first, to help facilitate local SMEs which they feel are underserved in the fintech circle.
Serving the underserved
With many traditional SMEs now wanting to pivot, MoneyMatch wants to assist them in reducing their cost and optimising their processes with digital services.
However, they’re not the only players in fintech or remittance. It is a sector rife with competition and constant innovation. That said, Naysan believes that MoneyMatch still holds a candle against the rest, especially with technological advantages such as their cross-border blockchain connectivity to countries such as India and South Korea.
To answer the call of SMEs in need of better business solutions, Naysan said they’ve hired new personnel in areas such as Penang and JB. And once restrictions lift and businesses return to normal, they will be hiring more and opening up more branches to further extend their reach locally.
Looking further down the line
As the first graduate of the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) regulatory sandbox, Naysan feels MoneyMatch is well-positioned to deliver financial technology innovations across the nation. On top of that, the startup is also part of a consortium that’s bidding for a local digital banking license.
When asked if he could share more on what they would be offering to Malaysians should they get the license, Naysan politely declined, saying, “We will leave that to our digital banking consortium’s lead to announce when they are ready on their plans and vision.” However, he did say that they are “strongly diversified to handle numerous challenges and take on the market aggressively”.
We also asked Naysan whether he had any advice for other fintech startups who are seeking funding, to which he chirped: “No excuses! I know this sounds a bit mean, but unfortunately, times are bad and investors are very wary.”
“However, just as some businesses are suffering, there are also many sectors which are flourishing such as e-commerce and logistics so at the end of the day, even in bad times like this right now, investors still have options to invest in strong healthy startups.”
Fully focus on your critical success factors—whether that’s net revenues, user base or site traffic, and impress investors with your growth and strength even during these tough times.
Naysan Munusamy, co-founder of MoneyMatch
- You can learn more about MoneyMatch here.
- Read up on what we’ve written about fintech in the past here.
Featured Image Credit: MoneyMatch
