In 2016, a total of US$23.5 billion was invested into fintech globally, with Asia Pacific receiving more than half of the amount (US$14.8 billion), according to Startupbootcamp.

While China and India continue to dominate the region as the largest fintech ecosystems, other contenders in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, have witnessed significant growth and development in financial innovation.

Today, we give you the 11 most recent fintech fundings in Hong Kong, Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia.

 

Grab to raise largest single funding round in Southeast Asia

Grab, the leading ride-hailing, logistics, and mobile payments platform in Southeast Asia, has announced the support of Didi Chuxing, China’s leading mobile transportation platform and Japan’s SoftBank Group, in its current financing round.

Didi Chuxing and SoftBank Group are to invest up to US$2 billion to lead the funding round, which Grab expects will total around US$2.5 billion from both existing and new investors. This will be the largest single funding round that’s ever been raised by a startup in Southeast Asia.

Anthony Tan, Grab’s group CEO and co-founder, said that with the support of Didi Chuxing and SoftBank Group, “Grab will achieve an unassailable market lead in ridesharing, and build on this to make GrabPay the payment solution of choice for Southeast Asia.”

Headquartered in Singapore, Grab operates the largest transportation network in Southeast Asia and is one of the most frequently used mobile platforms in the region with nearly three million daily rides.

Grab offers private car, motorbike, taxi, and carpooling services across 7 countries and 65 cities in Southeast Asia. Since its launch in December 2016, GrabPay Credits, a cashless top-up payments option, has grown more than 80% month-on-month, the company claims. Grab is planing  to push a fintech especially in Indonesia after buying the mobile payment platform Kudos

 

Indonesian P2P lender Julo raises seed funding

Julo, an Indonesian peer-to-peer lending startup, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from East Ventures, Skystar Capital, and Convergence Ventures.

Julo is an online alternative lending platform that works by matching individuals looking for loans with institutional lenders. The startup currently offers unsecured personal loans for three months to a year at low monthly interest rates of around 1.5% to 4%.

Julo said it plans to use the newly raised capital to increase its user base to 10,000 individuals within the next year. A portion of the investment will also be used on distribution.

 

CompareAsiaGroup raises US$50M round led by World Bank’s IFC

Hong Kong-based fintech startup CompareAsiaGroup has secured US$50 million in a Series B funding round led by the World Bank’s commercial lending arm, the International Finance Corporation. The round included participation from new investors Alibaba, SBI Group and H&Q Utrust, as well as returning investors like Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Nova Founders Capital, ACE & Company and Route 66 Ventures.

CompareAsiaGroup offers financial comparison platforms and marketplaces in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. It allows users to search for credit cards, bank loans and insurance products based on their needs and risk profiles.

The group claims that over 28 million people used its services in 2016, making it the largest personal financial management platform in Asia.

 

Indonesian startup Cashlez secures US$2M

Cashlez, a fintech startup based in Indonesia, has raised US$2 million from the corporate venture capital arm of the Mandiri Group. The startup has also received an undisclosed amount of funding from angel investors and GAN Capital.

Established in 2015, Cashlez provides local merchants and small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) with digital payment solutions. The startup has developed a mobile point-of-sale system which enables digital payment solutions using credit or debit cards via a mobile app that connects to a dongle or card reader via Bluetooth.

Cashlez aims to distribute 4,000 card readers to Indonesian SMEs this year.

 

InstaRem raises US$13M; eyes IPO

InstaRem, a cross-border payment startup based in Singapore, has raised US$13 million in a new funding round led by China’s GRS Ventures with participation from SBI-FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund as well as existing investors such as Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings, and Global Founders Capital.

The startup said that the new capital will be used to expand its business, which is rooted in Asia, into Europe and North America. InstaRem said it is planning an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as 2020, reports TechCrunch.

InstaRem operates an international payments service for business users, including banks and retailers, as well as individuals. The company claims it is processing 150,000 transfers every month with an average size of US$1,800 per transaction.

 

Credolab raises US$1 million in Pre-Series A

CredoLab has raised over US$1 million in a Pre-Series A round led by fintech VC firm Fintopia Group with participation from Indonesia’s Reliance Modal Ventura.

The company said that the capital raised was twice the amount it originally intended to raise. It will be used to ramp up its product offerings and expand its operations to serve the underbanked population.

Based in Singapore, CredoLab offers a credit scoring mobile app called CredoApp that leverages on predictive analytics to generate digital credit scores. The solution is particularly useful in emerging markets where underbanked populations have no credit history.

The company says it has more than ten financial institutions region in its client base and is set to increase its client portfolio by more than two-fold in the next six months.

CredoLab is expected to generate more than a million credit scores by the end of the year and reach profitability by the end of 2017.

 

Turnkey Lender raises undisclosed amount of funding

Singaporean Turnkey Lender has raised an undisclosed amount of funding led by Vertex Ventures. The startup said that it will use the capital to expand its software-as-a-service across the region, ramp up product development and hire new talent.

Turnkey Lender offers a cloud-based platform that allows companies to automate credit scoring and loan management online. It uses machine learning and data analytics to understand potential loan applicants.

Turnkey Lender serves over 40 customers across 25 countries.

 

MyCash Online raises US$303K in crowdfunding campaign

MyCash Online, a Malaysian fintech startup, has raised RM1.3 million (over US$303,000) in a crowdfunding campaign run on equity crowdfunding platform pitchIN. The round was led by government-backed early stage fund Cradle Fund through its co-investment exercise along with Hong Kong-based co-investor JC Management.

MyCash Online, the first fintech startup to successfully raise funding through an equity crowdfunding platform in Malaysia, provides an online marketplace designed for the massive pool of underbanked migrants in the country.

MyCash Online is currently seeking regulatory approval to build and operate innovation remittances and banking services for the same target market.

According to MyCash Online CEO Mehedi Hasan Sumon, the company had served 65,000 unbanked customers and carried out more than 280,000 transaction worth RM4.3 million (over US$1 million), as of June 207.

 

Thai mPOS startup Digio raises Series A

Digio, a Bangkok-based fintech startup, has raised an undisclosed Series A funding from participants that included InVent, the VC arm of telco-focused holding companies InTouch.

Digio develops a range of products, including a device that allows vendors to take card payments on their smartphones, a digital wallet, and a secure solution for receiving customers’ signatures electronically. The startup also offers POS and mPOS systems for business owners to use in-store.

 

Indian startup Trupay raises US$700K

Protinus Infotech, the Indian startup which operates payment platform Trupay, has raised US$700,000 from a group of investors that included Kae Capital.

Founded in 2015, Trupay initially provided a peer-to-peer payment platform that enabled users to send and receive money directly from their bank account by linking a mobile phone number. The startup later pivoted its business model into developing payment solutions to help merchants do away with traditional POS terminals.

In particular, Trupay provides a plug-and-play payment platform that helps businesses transact with customers online or through mobile devices in physical stores.

 

Bangalore startup Innoviti raises US$18M Series B

Innoviti Payment Solutions, a Bangalore-based fintech startup, has raised US$18 million in a Series B funding round led by the SBI-FMO Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investor Catamaran Ventures.

Innoviti develops payments solutions for the Indian market. It helps businesses receive payments across different channels including online and on mobile, in-store, and at the time of the delivery of a product.

The company also operates SMELending.com, a platform that helps businesses get short-term loans for 15 days or more.

 

Featured image by violetkaipa via Shutterstock.com.