FinTech News
Singapore-Based FinTech Surfin Raises $12.5 Million
Surfin, a FinTech headquartered in Singapore, has announced a new round of funding.
About the funding round:
This week, Surfin announced that it had raised $12.5 million. The Series A was led by Insignia Venture Partners, which has previously invested in such international FinTechs as CrediBook, Fazz, Nudge, among others. Surfin notes that this round marks the first time the company has sought external funding. Prior to this, the company had been bootstrapped and didn’t take on any third-party debt.
The new funding also comes as Surfin has reached some recent milestones. According to the company, it has reached approximately $2.7 billion in total transactions and serves more than 60 million users across three continents.
About Surfin:
Surfin is a consumer-facing FinTech with a suite of products ranging from consumer loans to wealth management. While its largest market is Indonesia, the company also has a presence in Mexico, the Phillippines, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Uganda, and Australia.
Last year, the company launched a credit card in Mexico that features flexible payment terms and no annual fee. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the firm introduced a mutual fund trading platform aimed at young and first-time investors.
Across several of its products, Surfin leverages a credit scoring engine that utilizes AI and data analytics. The company states that this technology has allowed them to “lend sustainably at scale” while entering new markets with varying financial needs.
What they’re saying:
Discussing his company’s missing, Surfin founder and CEO Dr. Yanan Wu stated, “Surfin’s vision has always been to build a financial technology services ecosystem on top of our scalable and sustainable risk management system, powered by AI and big data. This system has been stress-tested by the behavior of 60 million users across three continents.”
Dr. Wu continued, “Recently, we’ve leveraged this system to launch remittance, payment, wealth management, and credit card services, deepening our mission of financial inclusion in the markets where we operate.”
My thoughts:
It’s not very often that I write about FinTech startups based outside of the United States — but I found myself fascinated with Surfin. Specifically, the variety they show not only in product lineup but also in geographic markets truly sets them apart in my eyes. Plus, the fact that they’ve been bootstrapped for the past seven years ahead of this Series A makes them all the more impressive.
Of course, I can’t help but wonder if they’d ever make their way to the States. Although they don’t even so much as hint as it being a goal, perhaps with this new funding, that could be in the cards for the future.
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