Southeast Asian SME digital financing platform Funding Societies announced that it has launched Elevate, a virtual card for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Singapore.
Elevate, a free-to-apply credit line that comes with an opt-in virtual card, is enabled by Banking-as-a-Service provider, MatchMove, and developed in partnership with Mastercard.
The card is available on a credit line the platform’s website and mobile app, and entitles qualified MSMEs to interest-free credit for a period of up to 55 days and no personal guarantees are required for limits under S$30,000.
Funding Societies said that approvals of applications are given within one business day.
Sub-cards for employees with assigned limits will be rolled out later this month.
This launch comes on the back of Funding Societies’ recent US$294 million Series C+ fundraise, some of which it has channeled to such new strategic products for the region’s MSME banking needs.
Seven years into its establishment, Funding Societies today serves more than 76,000 MSMEs across five countries in Southeast Asia – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
To date, it has disbursed over S$2.8 billion in business financing through more than 5 million loans, and is expanding into neobanking following its recent multi-million dollar fundraise.
“In an environment where traditional providers issue corporate lines to only large businesses with a strong credit track record, or offer debit cards with deposit accounts, Funding Societies’ Elevate serves an urgent and important need of micro and small businesses in Singapore who need flexible credit to pay for their expenses.
When business owners do not take on personal liability on their own credit cards, their business becomes more sustainable,”
said Shrawan Saraogi, Funding Societies, Group Head of Strategy, New Business.