Funding Societies, a Southeast Asian digital financing platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), today announced that it is acquiring regional payments solution, CardUp, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals.

Through the move, Funding Societies will acquire CardUp’s payments capabilities such as card payments to non-card accepting recipients (domestic and cross-border), online payments acceptance, invoice automation tools as well as its licenses and integrations with third-party business software.

With presence in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, CardUp has served tens of thousands of businesses including micro-businesses, SMEs, and corporates across a spectrum of B2B and C2B industries.

CardUp’s payment services will complement Funding Societies’ lending products, enabling SMEs to manage and pay expenses, receive payments, and borrow funds on a single digital platform.

Once the acquisition is finalised, Funding Societies will welcome Nicki Ramsay, Founder and CEO of CardUp into its management team to lead its payments business while retaining all of its employees across Asia.

CardUp will continue to operate its consumer and business services and maintain its long-standing relationships with card networks, issuers, and media partners.

The acquisition comes off the back of Funding Societies’ recent Series C+ raise of US$294 million in February 2022, of which US$144 million was raised in equity, and its recent investment into Bank Index in Indonesia, launch of business virtual card Elevate in Singapore and entry into Vietnam, strengthening the company’s suite of financial services for SMEs.

Kelvin Teo, Co-founder and Group CEO of Funding Societies | Modalku said,

“Having known Nicki and CardUp since 2018, we find CardUp has a great cultural and strategic fit.

 

Acquiring CardUp enables us to leapfrog and accelerate our market leadership in the regional fintech space, integrating payments capabilities, enhanced user experience and local licenses to our digital lending experience across key markets.”

Nicki Ramsay, Founder and CEO of CardUp said,

“This acquisition reflects strong strategic and cultural synergy with both parties aligned on the mission to help SMEs improve the way they operate their business and manage cash flow.

 

We are confident that CardUp and our employees are in good hands with Kelvin and his team and are excited to work together on this next chapter of growth.”