How a financial site stayed profitable amid a pandemic

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Fun fact of the day: It will take you two hours and 27 minutes to finish reading Microsoft Teams’ terms and conditions, according to Jason Cohen on PCMag. And given how these T&Cs are usually written in such a confusing and unreadable way, it would probably be faster for me to get through Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

So it’s not surprising that dealing with insurance and credit cards are my least favorite adulting activities to do. These products are often accompanied by documents filled with financial jargon that just makes me dizzy. Luckily for us these days, there are financial websites that help break down these complexities. MoneySmart is one of these portals, and its revenue has been on an up and up.

Today we look at,

• How a financial comparison site became profitable despite the pandemic
• A Singapore-based startup combines fantasy sports with stocks trading
• Other newsy highlights such as ByteDance and Tencent getting into yet another spat and the Indian government issuing a warning against Twitter

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Keeping up with profitability: Singapore-based financial aggregator stays in the green

Many financial institutions took a hit at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Yet Singapore-based financial portal MoneySmart has managed to post back-to-back profitable quarters in Q4 2020 and Q1 of this year.

• Bread and butter: MoneySmart helps people compare different personal finance products including credit cards, insurance, and loans. The platform makes money through commission fees earned from commercial banks or insurers when a user successfully signs up for a product or service.
• One smart cookie: The company has been registering revenue that’s been growing year on year. Between 2019 and 2020, MoneySmart’s revenue climbed by 23% while its operating losses have declined significantly. MoneySmart’s CEO attributes this to being focused and doubling down on products that work, such as credit cards and personal loans.
• Strapped for cash: It’s not all rosy, however. Travel insurance, which serves as a huge revenue stream for most financial comparison sites, has dried up amid the pandemic. So last year, MoneySmart issued a temporary pay cut across its 120-strong team.

Read more: MoneySmart posts two profitable quarters in the thick of a pandemic

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