AirAsia Digital’s fintech arm nets $100m from Korean conglomerate SK Group

Digital wallet BigPay has raised US$100 million in financing from South Korean conglomerate SK Group. The fintech arm of AirAsia Digital will use the funds to support its digital banking expansion in Southeast Asia. This is the biggest funding that a portfolio company under AirAsia Digital has received to date, according to a statement.

Established in 2017, BigPay provides money transfer, microinsurance, bill payment, and budgeting services on top of offering a prepaid debit card that works with Visa- and Mastercard-compatible portals. The company currently has operations in Malaysia and Singapore, with the goal of setting foot in Thailand and then other Southeast Asian countries.

Salim Dhanani, CEO and founder of BigPay / Photo credit: BigPay

“Our ambition has always been to establish BigPay as one of the largest challenger banks in Southeast Asia. Closing this financing round gives us the ability to build out our offerings, accelerate product development and scale,” said BigPay CEO and co-founder Salim Dhanani.

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Dhanani said that BigPay would first roll out key products before expanding into new markets in the region with digital banking services. These services include fully digital personal loans, transactional lending, and offerings for micro, small and medium enterprises.

The fresh funding comes a month after BigPay led a consortium with the aim of applying for a digital banking license in Malaysia.

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In July, AirAsia’s logistics arm Teleport told Tech in Asia that it is in talks with investors to raise up to US$100 million in funding.