Why Funding Societies’ payments play makes sense

In The Top Up this week, we dive into Funding Societies’ new offering for SMEs in the region and analyze Grab’s digibank plans for Indonesia. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Melissa Goh Fintech Journalist Hello {NAME} The growth of a startup is never linear - we know that much. Funding Societies, however, has taken this idea to a new level. In the few years I’ve reported on the company, I’ve described the firm as a peer-to-peer platform, an SME lender, and a [digital bank hopeful](. Now, it’s in payments too - SME payments, that is. Earlier this year, the firm launched Elevate, a payments card for small and medium-sized enterprises that provides interest-free credit to those that pass a credit underwriting process on top of the typical know-your-customer procedure. Funding Societies is also pending regulatory approval for its acquisition of CardUp, which will digitalize things from rent, payroll, and payments collection for SMEs. What’s notable is that the firm appears to have grown from being a lender to operating in payments and not the other way around, which we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from many tech companies. As my colleague Samreen noted in this week’s Big Story, there may be benefits to going from lending to payments. Meanwhile, just days after Grab’s very [first investor day]( the company said it’s aiming to launch its digital banks in Malaysia and Indonesia by 2023. Our reporter Putra breaks down the odds for the super app in Indonesia’s crowded digibank space in this week’s Hot Take. – Melissa  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [Funding Societies swipes right on payments in SEA]( The fintech startup will focus on the “less digitized” business payments segment for SMEs in the region. 2️⃣ [Ant Group-backed 2C2P’s profit, revenue narrow in 2021]( The drop in earnings was mainly caused by a dip in e-merchandise sales, even though revenue from its payments segment grew.  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE Grab’s digibank will finally enter Indonesia. Can it catch up? Hot on the heels of GXS Bank’s launch in Singapore, Grab has finally announced that it will be [unveiling]( its digital banks in Indonesia and Malaysia in 2023. But in Indonesia specifically, Grab will be a relatively late entry into what has become a crowded space. Fellow tech giants like GoTo and Sea, as well as banking incumbents, already have a head start. But the super app does have its own advantages: Having the existing tech stack of GXS Bank (run by the Grab-Singtel consortium) could shorten the go-to-market period. Grab’s existing user base, as well as the breadth of its partner ecosystems, will also be a boon. Will these be enough for Grab to catch up? [Read the full story.]( – Putra  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the fintech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Grab to launch digibank in Malaysia, Indonesia in 2023]( As with the launch of GXS Bank in Singapore in August, Grab’s digital bank in Indonesia will be built in partnership with Singtel and with an additional partner - Emtek Group. 2️⃣ [Y Combinator backs $5.8m seed round of Indian neobank enabler]( Vance is building a global neobanking platform that will allow users to manage multiple accounts and exchange currencies, among others. 3️⃣ [500 Global backs HK insurtech firm’s $4.5m raise]( Yas MicroInsurance’s pre-series A funding round is led by Noria Capital, Zemu VC, and JKL Capital. 4️⃣ [Prosus pulls plug on $4.7b BillDesk buy through PayU]( Prosus, which is the investment arm of Naspers, said it will remain committed to the Indian market. It has invested US$6 billion into the country’s tech landscape since 2005. 5️⃣ [SG, HK among top five fintech ecosystems globally in 2021: report]( Hong Kong is also a newcomer among the top five – which includes Silicon Valley, New York City, and London – in the report from Startup Genome.  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI [Grab’s financial arm takes center stage at its investor day]( Grab’s inaugural investor day saw the super app hit the right notes, but will that be enough to attract backers?  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preferences center. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com. See you next week! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894