Among the consortiums that obtained digital banking licences last week was one led by KAF Investment Bank, a name that many might say came out of left field. But in that consortium is one familiar participant, a company that Vulcan Post has previously talked to several times—MoneyMatch.
“Whilst many considered our consortium to be dark horses, we certainly knew our strengths and quietly believed we would definitely be amongst the top contenders,” said Naysan Munusamy, co-founder of MoneyMatch. “So when we got the actual news, we were of course super elated and also grateful that the regulators saw our worth.”
After closing its RM18.5 million Series A funding in 2021, the fintech company did announce that it was part of a consortium bidding for a digital banking licence, but a lot of details were left up in the air.
Now encouraged by the successful digital licence application, the company is launching its Series B fundraising round, less than a year after its first round.
According to Naysan, the company is looking for US$10 million, with a focus to scale up beyond Malaysia and invest heavily into leading edge financial technologies globally.
They’re already in talks with several local and regional investors, investment banks, and venture capital funds, aiming to close the round by the middle of 2022.
The multinational fintech company’s core business is to allow customers to send funds abroad in a low-cost and transparent manner. According to its website, it has seen over RM3.2 billion transactions since it was launched in 2017.
On top of this, MoneyMatch also has a history with Bank Negara Malaysia, becoming the first graduate of BNM’s regulatory sandbox three years ago.
Another member of the consortium, Jirnexu (known for its price comparison site, RinggitPlus), was also a graduate of the sandbox. The remaining member of the consortium is Carsome, a local car e-commerce platform.
With these powerhouses being part of the consortium, we can see why the KAF-led group was selected to receive a digital banking licence.
When asked about whether being part of the consortium would affect MoneyMatch’s regular operations, Naysan said that it’s actually a great booster for the company’s core underlying solution.
Over the years, MoneyMatch has grown beyond serving normal retail customers and the SME segment. It now also serves other financial institutions and banks in Malaysia and overseas, according to Naysan. Hence, the company believes they’re already prepared to power and enable the consortium.
“Our payment rails and corridors to over 80 plus countries are a proven product attracting over RM4 billion in transactions over the past few years, all taken away from traditional banks,” the co-founder elaborated. “Therefore what we’ll be doing is extending our solutions and building up new verticals as well for the digital bank, to which the new fundraising will address.”
In a press release, Adrian Yap, the CEO of MoneyMatch, also said that the company believes the consortium has the right resources in place to serve the underserved MSME segments.
Whether he’s right about that, the next one to two years as the consortium prepares for operational readiness will tell.
Featured Image Credit: MoneyMatch