Lightspeed leads $10m round in South Korean fintech startup Travel Wallet

Photo credit: Travel Wallet

Asia is leading the global rise in digital transactions, and use cases have long extended to travel. Players like Singapore-based YouTrip have raised over US$100 million in total disclosed funding, while newcomers like India’s Scapia have also raised funds in the past year as travel bounces back after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Another such company is South Korea-based Travel Wallet. The firm, whose platform lets travelers exchange various foreign currencies, has secured US$10 million in a new funding round.

YouTrip backer Lightspeed led the investment, which marks Travel Wallet’s first global venture capital infusion and Lightspeed’s first foray into the Korean market.

CEO Hyungwoo Kim said in a statement that Travel Wallet plans to “actively pursue international expansion” with Lightspeed’s backing. To that end, the company has set up local subsidiaries in the US and Japan, with expansion to begin as soon as the second half of this year.

Travel Wallet’s flagship product is Travel Pay, a prepaid card that lets users exchange funds and make payments in 46 different currencies. The company, whose transaction volume has cumulatively approached US$2.2 billion, said it has issued 5.3 million cards in South Korea by April 2024.

The cross-border fintech space can be a lucrative one. Just this month, UK-based Wise – which offers similar products, such as a currency exchange app and an accompanying card – reported US$1.3 billion in revenue for the financial year ended March 2024.

About US$275 million of the revenue came from Asia Pacific, making it Wise’s second-best performing region behind Europe.

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