BigPay raises up to US$100M to further establish itself as the leading challenger bank in Southeast Asia
-
BigPay has secured up to US$100m in financing led by SK Group to further its mission to become the leading challenger bank in Southeast Asia.
-
“Our ambition has always been to establish BigPay as one of the largest challenger banks in Southeast Asia. Closing this financing round gives us the ability to build out our offerings, accelerate product development and scale. We are thrilled to have SK Group with us on this journey,” says Salim Dhanani, CEO & Co-Founder of BigPay.
SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR, 6 August 2021 - BigPay, a leading fintech company in Southeast Asia, announced today that it has finalised up to US$100m in financing from South Korean conglomerate, SK Group.
Founded in 2017, BigPay is present in both Malaysia and Singapore. Its current offering includes a prepaid debit card which can be used to spend anywhere Visa or Mastercard is accepted, local and international money transfers, micro-insurance, bill payments and a budgeting tool. BigPay has launched a series of products for its users focused on long-term financial health and accessibility.
“Our mission is to become a leading challenger bank across Southeast Asia. We’ve established ourselves in Malaysia as one of the leading providers of digital banking services, and we want to expand our product sets, along with growing the model to new markets. Thailand is next, but we’ll be launching key products before that - with fully digital personal loans, transactional lending and an offering for mSMEs” said Salim.
This is the first time any portfolio company within airasia Digital has secured financing of this size. The funding from one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates and tech innovator further strengthens AirAsia’s digital endeavour as it accelerates the scope of growth for its digital businesses, including logistics and financial services.
AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes said, “I am excited for this great partnership with SK Group and for their belief in BigPay’s mission to bring inclusivity to financial services. This is the first investment into one of our portfolio digital companies and a testament to our digital growth story - we don’t anticipate it being the last. SK Group is second to none when it comes to innovation and experience, so we truly believe they can share their expertise and know-how so that this investment can mark the beginning of a new exciting digital banking era.”
Chief Representative of SK Malaysia, Jung Kyu Kim said, “We are happy to be joining forces with BigPay as we’ve had a keen interest in fintech and digital banking for a long time. SK Group will be able to make a significant contribution to BigPay in both technical and consumer service aspects given our experience and resources.”
The announcement comes a few weeks after BigPay announced its application for a digital banking license where it reiterated the commitment to build a connected financial future for Malaysian consumers and entrepreneurs.
“Our ethos has always been clear. We want to launch financial products that are not only simple and convenient but transparent and accessible to everyone. We are ready to embark on the next stage of our journey with SK Group and we will continue to provide fair financial services to communities across Southeast Asia,” says Salim.
For press and media inquiries, please contact press@bigpayme.com
BigPay news & updates
Featured Articles
9 Aug 2021
Virtual Banking Fintech BigPay Acquires $100M from South Korean Conglomerate SK Group
Digital banking challenger BigPay, which is one of the fastest-growing Fintechs in the ASEAN region, recently revealed that it has acquired $100 million in funding from South Korea’s conglomerate SK Group.
9 Aug 2021
BigPay secures USD 100 million from SK Group
ASEAN-based Digital banking challenger BigPay has acquired USD 100 million in funding from South Korea-based SK Group, according to IBS Intelligence.
3 Aug 2021
BigPay banks on AirAsia’s ecosystem, consortium’s banking expertise to vie for digital banking license in Malaysia
Notable applicants that have officially announced their applications include Grab-Singtel venture, Axiata-RHB consortium, Paramount-Star Media Group, iFAST Corporation Ltd, AirAsia’s BigPay-MIDF-Ikhlas Capital consortium, AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd, among others.
28 Sep 2020
BigPay gears up for regional expansion
BigPay is entering the Singapore market, after 2 years of rapid growth with over 1 million users in Malaysia. The fast-growing fintech is on an aggressive growth path and is getting ready to make its mobile money app and prepaid Visa card available to all Singapore residents in the coming weeks.
24 Sep 2019
BigPay aims to bring change with new international digital remittance service
TECHNOLOGY can dramatically reduce the cost of remittance and ease the process of people transferring money abroad. That’s what BigPay aims to do with its new international remittance service on its platform.
23 Sep 2019
BigPay's Move Into International Bank Transfers Could Make ASEAN Richer
BigPay takes on a challenge in the e-money space to reveal a Malaysian-first: international remittance from an app to real bank accounts in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
11 Jul 2019
BigPay and how it's poised to become Southeast Asia's leading digital bank
As the Southeast Asian region is shifting gradually into cashless systems, there's one company that is poising itself to be a mainstream player in the market.
19 Mar 2019
You don't have to have good grades to work for Tony Fernandes - here's what the AirAsia boss looks for in people
The AirAsia Group CEO told the audience at Money20/20 on Tuesday (March 19) that BigPay, his one-year-old FinTech venture, has its focus set on the region.
6 Nov 2018
AirAsia CEO says its mobile payment app will give Alipay, GrabPay 'a run for their money'
AirAsia’s new mobile payment app, BigPay, can give established players in the region a run for their money, according to the budget airline’s CEO Tony Fernandes.
5 Aug 2018
Cashing in on the ewallet trend
The usage of e-wallets has the potential to benefit all segments of society including people who do not have a bank account as well as businesses – both big and small – from roadside stalls to hypermarkets and more.
15 Mar 2018
AirAsia is entering the digital payments race
AirAsia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes officially unveiled BigPay, the budget airline’s new digital payments platform, at the Money 2020 conference in Singapore today.
23 Feb 2018
BigPay going to be huge Asean fintech, says Fernandes
AirAsia Bhd's digital wallet provider BigPay is going to be a huge Asean fintech, said the airline's group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
15 Jan 2018
AirAsia introduces its own mobile wallet, BigPay
AirAsia has joined the ranks of digital wallet providers with its own app, BigPay.
9 Aug 2021
BigPay Raises Up to US$100M to Further Establish Itself
BigPay, a leading fintech company in Southeast Asia, announced today that it has finalised up to US$100m in financing from South Korean conglomerate, SK Group.
6 Aug 2021
Malaysia's BigPay scores $100m investment
BigPay, the fintech arm of airline AirAsia, has secured an investment of up to US$100 million from South Korea's SK Group.
13 Jul 2021
BigPay Joins Global Coalition To Enhance Climate Efforts In Malaysia
BigPay has joined a new global partnership in efforts to enhance biodiversity and climate efforts in Malaysia with a pilot project to plan trees in Borneo in the second half of the year. The coalition brings together a global network of financial, e-commerce, digital, and consumer goods and services companies with experts in sustainability, and nature and biodiversity conservation.
17 Dec 2019
How Digital Neobanks Can Win In Southeast Asia - And Eventually Everywhere
Recently launched neobanks like Malaysia’s BigPay and Octo in The Philippines are starting to attract customers in droves.
23 Sep 2019
Tony Fernandes' BigPay launches money remittance from Malaysia to Singapore at fixed rate of RM7
BigPay, AirAsia’s FinTech venture, has launched an international remittance service that will allow instant international transfers from Malaysia for fixed rates as low as RM7 (S$2.31).
30 Aug 2019
Tech: AirAsia's BigPay eyes big slice of Southeast Asia's online banking segment
AIRASIA’s financial services venture, BigPay, will soon increase its offerings to include loans and remittances in its maiden step towards becoming the region’s largest financial institution operating on a challenger bank model.
20 Mar 2019
The similarities between the aviation and financial services industries and why "product" ultimately wins
Backstage at Money20/20 Asia: Pat Patel, Global Content Director at #Money2020 met up with Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of Air Asia & Co-Founder of BigPay | Challenge Banking.
19 Mar 2019
AirAsia's bid to make people more 'financially inclusive'
Tony Fernandes of AirAsia Group explains the idea behind BigPay, which he says will help with financial inclusivity.
14 Aug 2018
I Wasn't Really On Board The E-Wallet Hype, But AirAsia's BigPay Made Me A Believer
Launched earlier this year, BigPay was lauded by Tony Fernandes with “one day this product will be worth more than AirAsia”.
15 Mar 2018
Tony Fernandes launches BigPay officially, with plans for remittance and money-lending services
Fernandes aims to transform AirAsia into a digital company, starting with the introduction of BigPay, its new cashless system.
26 Feb 2018
Zero processing fee for payments with BigPay app, says Fernandes
There will be zero processing fee for payments made using AirAsia Bhd's digital wallet provider BigPay's app, said the airline's group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
17 Jan 2018
9 Things To Know About The New E-Wallet That "Will Be Worth More Than AirAsia"
BigPay is an e-wallet and accompanying prepaid card that Tony Fernandes believes will be worth more than AirAsia.
18 Nov 2017
The best low-cost airline in the world is taking on Amazon and international banking
AirAsia has also launched a payments platform called BigPay.
Get your BigPay in 5 minutes
