Singapore- based SingX Providing Cheaper and Faster Online Remittance Services

Singapore SingX - Craft Driven

SingX is a Fintech startup founded by like-minded banking professional team Atul Garg, Kula Kulendaran and Vineet Nagrani in 2014 to disrupt the cross-border payments industry. The startup was initiated to recurring the pain point of the additional fees and bank charges to the consumers during their remittance process. The unwilling charges applied to customers while transferring the funds are unfair and this drives the need to build new cross-border payments Fintech startup. The startup is aiming to become Airbnb of cross-border global payments solving the issue of consumers by offering a cost-friendly alternative.

SingX has been licensed under the Monetary Authority of Singapore and it is pride on itself on being transparent and has competitive rates. In 2017, the startup has been awarded US$ 74,000 at the Global Singapore FinTech Awards. SingX established the cross-border transaction so easy and time efficient with the use of advanced technology which was so hectic for consumers, first travel to the bank to make payments. Also, SingX made the cross-border payments cheaper for the consumers by removing the extra cost incurred during the transaction, which was approx 8% due to hidden costs such as cable charges, bank commissions and foreign exchange markups, etc.

How SingX Initiate:

The concept of SingX was sprung when one day the founder noticed that his helper who remits money back every month to Indonesia faces a lot of difficulty during the whole process. She had to spend almost 3 hours during the whole process of the transaction take place, as she has to present physically at the remittance outlet. Yet the process didn’t end here it takes a hefty amount of charge on the foreign exchange rate and many other fees about which she was not aware of. The hefty charge on the international transaction realized him that most of the people who remit money are unaware of the hidden charges from their existing remittance providers and found the charge of 5-15% is unfair.

After deeply analysing the issue, Atul Garg discovered the global payments industry is growing 10% per annum and estimated at US$ 30 trillion and affecting a multitude of consumers and businesses. Also, he realised that Asian foreign exchange involves a dual conversion with the US dollar as settlement, further driving the rates up for consumers. He found a significant opportunity in the global payments industry and can disrupt it by providing more value to the consumers. After this, a like-minded banking professional’s team started conceptualizing a quick, convenient and affordable new way to transfer money overseas. This is how SingX was born and established its first office in Singapore.

SingX’s Funding and Investment:

SingX had raised its seed funding of US$ 2.5 million at its inauguration. On Aug 23, 2017, SingX had raised its second round of funding of US$ 4.5 million to expand its online remittance services in Malaysia and Hong Kong, in two new markets. Senior bankers and high net worth individuals from Singapore and Hong Kong are the investors of the startup in their second round of funding. Later on veteran bankers Rajan Raju, Vineet Nagrani and Kula Kulendaran join the team of SingX as shareholders. Edwin Khoo, former DBS head of enterprise banking is also serving the startup as an advisory board member.

SingX’s Accomplishment:

Fintech startup dealing with the cross-border payments offers an ultra-convenient platform, good exchange rates and complete transparency to the consumers managing the money transfer from home. In Jan 2019, the startup’s website visits were 69.1 thousand and currently available in 35 countries. In 2016, the volume of monthly remittance of SingX was US$ 5.47 million (S$8 million) from its first product, fund transfer from Singapore to India. Singapore residents, who invest in property, trade and stock with Hong Kong and China, will be considerably interested in SingX’s remittance service to Hong Kong.

According to Singstat figures, the import from Hong Kong into Singapore stands at around annually US$ 3 billion. In 2016, the second largest trading partner of Singapore was Malaysia and worth US$ 37 billion (S$ 50 billion) per annum of goods and services were imported from Malaysia and with SMEs’ imports accounting for US$ 9.7 billion (S$12.5 billion). Currently, 350,000 or more Malaysians are using SingX in Singapore to transfer money to their home to pay bills, family, mortgages and other expenses. CurrencyFair, Transferwise, WorldRemit, InstaReM, Payoneer, WorldFirst all are the competitors of SingX.

“We are targeting consumers and SMEs, the segments we believe are underserved and are paying the highest rates for remittances. SingX’s technology can provide them with a smarter way of moving their funds, swiftly, smoothly and cheaply. They will no longer need to queue up at bank branches or fill up forms,” said Atul Garg.

SingX’s Future Goal:

SingX achieved great success in Singapore and neighbouring countries. Now SingX is trying to expand its range in other nations in the world. It’s very obvious that SingX has aimed to increase its reach and to rule as the biggest market player in the field of Fintech industry. Singapore-based fintech startup may be another fintech that could be the next unicorn which can disrupt the global payments industry with its technological changes and demographic demands. The startup is aiming to provide better services to the consumer without compromising with the facilities.

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