Digital bank aspirant BigPay announced today that it has finalised up to US$100 million in financing from South Korean conglomerate SK Group.

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.

The funding comes a few weeks after BigPay announced its application for a Malaysian digital banking license.

BigPay had entered into a consortium with Malaysian financial institution MIDF and Ikhlas Capital, a Singapore-headquartered private equity fund manager for the application.

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.

This funding round is of one Malaysia’s largest fintech investment to date, surpassing that of Axiata Digital’s US$70 million investment from Great Eastern.

Salim Dhanani, CEO & Co-Founder of BigPay said,

“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 and the wider ASEAN is next, but we’ll be launching key products before that – with fully digital personal loans, transactional lending and an offering for mSMEs”

BigPay made its entrance into Thailand following AirAsia’s acquisition of Gojek’s Thailand business in a deal worth RM208 million (US$50 million). It is aiming to go live in the first quarter of 2022.

AirAsia’s 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.”