Singapore fintech YouTrip expands to Australia to grow further in APAC

SINGAPORE: Singapore-based fintech firm YouTrip, currently operating in Singapore and Thailand, announced its expansion in Australia on Tuesday (Dec 2), driven by high outbound travel and demand for better foreign exchange rates.

The expansion marks the company’s first new market since the COVID-19 pandemic, as it looks to grow further across other high-travel Asia-Pacific markets.

YouTrip offers a multi-currency travel card and said it processes over US$15 billion (S$19.46 billion) in annual transactions.

In the past year, about 12.3 million Australians travelled overseas and spent more than A$50 billion on international leisure travel, Reuters reported, citing YouTrip.

YouTrip co-founder and CEO Caecilia Chu said the expansion into Australia, which she described as a “market with substantial high-travel potential and familiar payment pain points”, reflected strong validation of the company’s payment innovation and ⁠scalability.

The company said its platform offers real-time mid-market exchange rates with no foreign exchange fees, allowing users to save up to 4% when spending overseas.

It added that it has secured more than US$110 million in funding to support its technology development and market expansion. /TISG

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