The Pitch by Garage: How the collapse of consumer travel pushed YouTrip to diversify its fintech services (Ep 3)
TRAVEL wallet operator YouTrip found itself in dire straits when tourism took a hit amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Caecilia Chu, co-founder and chief executive officer of YouTrip shared how the startup overcame the crisis by expanding its fintech services, while entering the business-to-business (B2B) space with the launch of its corporate card, YouBiz.
Here are some takeaways from the conversation:
Diversification
The ways in which people shopped and made payments had evolved during the pandemic. As such, YouTrip began to ramp up efforts on the e-commerce front in a bid to make the online purchasing journey more seamless and cost-effective for consumers. The startup had, for instance, struck new partnerships with its top online merchants to offer customers greater cash rebates and promotions.
Meanwhile, the launch of YouBiz came at a time when many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) became increasingly global with the emergence of remote working. But these ambitions were often hampered by gaps in cross-border payment services. YouBiz therefore offers zero foreign exchange fees and unlimited cashback in a bid to help SMEs save time and costs.
Business of trust
There is still a long growth runway for YouTrip, said Chu. But it takes time to build trust, particularly in the corporate banking space, she added. By launching a focused product for SMEs, YouTrip hopes that it will prove to be a reliable partner for businesses and eventually be able to serve more use cases.
On YouTrip’s edge over competitors, Chu said that the startup has greater control over product features and cost structures given that it owns its proprietary core banking platform from an end-to-end perspective.
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Highlights of the conversation:
01:25 The effects of the pandemic and how YouTrip pivoted
05:50 Promoting the culture of innovation and adaptability
11:22 Where YouTrip is prioritising business growth now
15:10 YouTrip’s offering in the crypto space
16:19 How to keep well-positioned in the competitive consumer payments space
Produced by: Vanessa Ho (podcast@sph.com.sg), Howie Lim and Ang Guangzheng
Edited by: Howie Lim
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