Yup aims to be the ‘Nubank from SEA,’ but the road ahead is long

Yup, the credit payment platform established by Singapore startup Finture, wants to be known as the “Nubank from Southeast Asia.”

It’s no wonder since Nu Holdings, Nubank’s New York Stock Exchange-listed parent, has been on a roll, with its shares up 83% year to date as of November 8 close.

The pioneering digital bank from Brazil also has a market capitalization of around US$72.9 billion as of writing, which makes it the world’s most valuable.

But while Yup raised US$30 million in a series B funding round in September, it still has a long way to go before it can achieve this goal.

Photo credit: Yup

Working class-centric

Just like Nubank, whose first product was a no-fee credit card, Yup offered only a physical credit card when it started in 2021.

The platform began expanding its product portfolio in 2022 when it launched an e-wallet feature after getting an e-money license in Indonesia.

Donny Zhang, founder and CEO of Finture, tells Tech in Asia that at the time of the platform’s launch, the goal was to provide a “payment tool” for Indonesians. And the startup also wanted to do something different compared to other fintech firms, which mainly lent money to consumers at “very high interest rates.”

“The barrier shouldn’t be that big,” he adds.

Yup is currently focused on working-class users with stable incomes in Indonesia. Zhang says this sets the company’s credit card offering apart from those of traditional banks that typically target the higher-earning population.

This also gives Yup access to Indonesia’s middle class and aspiring middle class, which accounts for two-thirds of the country’s total population.

For now, Finture offers services like e-wallet, credit payment, insurance, and ecommerce through Yup.

“We’ve also added mini-commerce into the app,” Zhang says, adding that it’s turning the platform into a “marketplace.”

Not yet a bank

Push for higher valuation