iMoney Expands Again, Launches Finance Comparison Site in Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong

Malaysia-based finance product comparison site iMoney has expanded to Singapore and the Philippines recently. This is after it had received $667,000 in funding. Today the startup further expands in Southeast Asia as it launches iMoney Hong Kong (operating under the name BestMoney) and iMoney Thailand (Update: One day after publishing, it launched in Indonesia as well at iMoney.co.id).

iMoney started with a mission to solve consumers’ frustration with the banks and confusion over all their finance products. After starting out in Malaysia in 2012, co-founder Ching Wei Lee realized, he says, that “the same model that applied to Malaysia could also be replicated in most countries in Southeast Asia.”

Ching says that Thailand now has over 20 million internet users, and there are high demands for loans at this time in the country. The country’s loan growth is expected to reach 13 percent this year. He adds that in Hong Kong, there are “more than five million Internet users and [it] had just experienced growth of 9.6 percent for loans and 9.3 percent for deposits within 2012.” Ching adds:

With consumers becoming more net-savvy and sophisticated in Asia, we believe more people are going to rely on impartial financial sites like iMoney.

With the addition of its Hong Kong and Thailand sites, iMoney expects to generate more than $1 billion in business for banks and insurance companies in Southeast Asia within 2013.

Beta sites are now available for BestMoney Hong Kong and iMoney Thailand where consumers can have access to free comparison services for credit cards, housing loans, personal loans, and deposits offered by major banks and insurance entities. A resource library that offers free financial information and tips is also available.

(Editing by: Steven Millward)