Kid-Focused Neobank Vircle Nets Seed Funding From Gobi, KMP
by Fintech News Malaysia November 1, 2023Vircle, a Malaysian neobanking service provider for kids, has secured seed funding from co-lead investors Kumpulan Modal Perdana (KMP) and Gobi Partners. Details of the funding was not disclosed.
Gobi made the investment through the Gobi Dana Impak Ventures (GDIV) fund which is a part of Khazanah Nasional’s Future Malaysia Programme, an initiative to support the nation’s startup ecosystem.
To date, Vircle has partnered with dozens of private and international schools across Malaysia. The funding will be used to further expand Vircle’s services to public schools nationwide.
Vircle’s app provides parents with a regulated financial tool to help their children navigate the cashless and digital banking environment. Through features like Missions, Savings, and Spending controls, children can learn vital money management skills.
Vircle was founded in March 2021 by Gokula Krishnan Subramaniam, who has over 20 years of experience in research and development, engineering, product, commercial, solutions, and sales.
Gokula Krishnan Subramaniam
Gokula said,
“We’ve created a truly family-centric financial platform to offer every child a gentle and safe introduction to the cashless world, providing experiential learning opportunities that allow them to experience the real world while providing parents peace of mind through Vircle’s unique parental oversight and child safety engine, before venturing into the real world of finances.
Our mission is to bank one million Malaysian children and a total of three million children across Southeast Asia within the next five years. We’ll achieve this by constantly innovating in collaboration with parents and regulators backed by funding from our investors such as KMP and GDIV.”
Thomas Tsao
Thomas G. Tsao, Co-founder and Chairperson, Gobi said,
“In a region where 160 million children lack access to banking services, Vircle emerges as a beacon of hope, introducing a safe passage into the cashless world.
With an emphasis on cultivating crucial money management skills, Vircle addresses a significant gap in both the educational system and households across Southeast Asia.”
