FinTech is one of the most promising business sectors in Southeast Asia. Fintech funding in the region more than tripled to hit a record US$3.5 billion in the first nine months of 2021, compared to US$1.1 billion for all of 2020. Digital payments, e-wallet transactions have skyrocketed over the last two years when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
In 2022, as tech companies around the world grapple with winter funding, fintech companies in Southeast Asia continue to raise huge capital. According to a CB Insights report titled “The Most Promising Fintech Companies of 2022” there are 10 companies in Southeast Asia that are included in the list of the most valuable fintechs in the world this year.
10 most promising Southeast Asian FinTech companies list:
1. Coda Payments (Singapore) – US$715 million
Coda Payments ranks top in Southeast Asia with a total fund of US$715 million. This Singapore-based fintech is supported by a number of investors, such as Cento Ventures, Rakuten Capital, to Google for Startups Accelerator.
Coda Payments offers three main products: (1) Codashop, a global marketplace for in-game currencies and content; (2) xShop, a proprietary distribution network that enables publishers to distribute their products through a range of e-commerce and other consumer-facing platforms; and (3) Codapay, an API service that allows game publishers and other digital content providers to accept over 300 payment methods on their own website.
2. Voyager Innovations (Philippines) – US$713 million
Voyager Innovations has raised up to US$210 million in its latest funding round. This makes the company the second unicorn in the Philippines with a valuation of more than US$ 1 billion.
Voyager's existing shareholders such as PLDT, private equity firm KKR & Co Inc, China's Tencent Holdings Ltd and International Finance Corp (IFC) also joined in the capital injection. This startup has served 47 million people through its consumer platform which includes e-wallet and digital payments.
3. Atome (Singapore) – US$600 million
Atome Financial is a subsidiary of Singapore-based tech unicorn Advance Intelligence Group. Last year, Atome Financial inked a 10-year partnership and US$500 million financing deal with Standard Chartered. This year, it received US$45 million from parent company Advance Intelligence Group and entered into an US$100 million debt facility with HSBC Singapore to support its business expansion.
4. Xendit (Indonesia) –US$515 million
Xendit is ranked 4th in Southeast Asia with a total funding of US$515 million. There are a number of investors behind this fintech funding, such as Y Combinator, Accel, East Ventures, GMO VenturePartners, to Tiger Global Management.
The company claims more than 3,000 customers, among which Samsung Indonesia, Grab Pay, Ninja Van Philippines, Qoala, Unicef Indonesia, Cashalo and Shopback, and says it has tripled annualized transactions from 65 million to 200 million and increased total payments value from US$6.5 billion to US$15 billion over the past year.
5. NIUM (Singapore) –US$264 million
Nium is an embedded finance startup that provides banks, payment providers, and businesses of any size with access to global payment services and card issuance solutions. Nium has raised US$264 million in funding and is worth US$1 billion, according to CB Insights and Dealroom data. The startup acquired Singapore-based alternative payments network platform Socash earlier this year, and is reportedly in talks to make another acquisition worth up to US$400 million to drive an expansion in Europe.
6. Bolttech (Singapore) –US$247 million
Bolttech is an insurtech with a mission to build the world's leading, technology-enabled ecosystem for protection and insurance. Headquarted in Singapore, Bolltech serves customers in 30 markets across North America, Asia, and Europe. Bolttech closed a US$247 million Series A funding round, which the company claimed was the largest ever Series A round for an insurtech company at the time. It’s valued at US$1 billion, according to CB Insights data.
In February 2022, Bolttech completed the acquisition of AVA Insurance Brokers and AVA Insurance Agency to accelerate the deployment of its insurance exchange in Singapore. The company is now reportedly seeking to raise US$300 million in fresh funds to push its expansion plans.
7. Tonik Bank (Philippines) – US$175 million
Tonik is the first digital-only neobank in the Philippines, providing loan, deposit, and payment products to consumers on a highly secure digital banking platform. Tonik has raised US$175 million in funding, according to CB Insights and Dealroom data.
Tonik is recognized as one of the most innovative and pioneering fintechs in digital banking, along with other game-changers such as Revolut, N26 and Monzo. Amazingly, Tonik is one of only two Philippine companies on the list and the only Southeast Asian fintech listed in the Digital Banking category.
8. Thunes (Singapore)–US$130 million
Thunes is a B2B that powers payments for the world's fastest-growing business - from Gig Economy giants such as Uber and Deliveroo and Southeast Asia's superapp Grab, to global Fintech leaders such as PayPal and Remitly. Thunes has raised US$130 million in funding, according to CB Insights and Dealroom data.
9. Pluang (Indonesia)–US$113 million
Pluang is an investment and micro-savings app that allows users to invest across several asset classes, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, gold and mutual funds. Pluang closed a US$55 million in a Series B funding round in January 2022, bringing its total funding to US$113 million, according to data from CB Insights and Dealroom.
Pluang said at the time that it planned to use the additional funding to further build out its technology capabilities and expand its asset classes. The company also plans to expand the availability of its app and services throughout key additional international markets.
10. Nansen (Singapore)–US$88 million
Nansen is a blockchain analytics platform, which combines on-chain data with a massive and constantly growing database containing millions of wallet labels. Nansen is ranked 10th in Southeast Asia with a total fund of US$88 million.
From this data, Singapore dominates as the country with FinTech that gets the largest amount of funding in Southeast Asia. Followed by 2 companies from Indonesia that are included in the list and 1 company from the Philippines.
Source: CB Insights, Fintechnews Singapore
