Malaysian startup iMoney seeks to expand after securing US$500 000

Malaysian startup iMoney has received US$500 000 in funding from Asia Venture Group (AVG). iMoney is a financial advisory and banking service comparison app and seeks “to change the financial landscape in South East Asia.”

iMoney is a financial package comparison site. It allows you to compare banking services and products available on the market. These services include comparisons and application of financial products like mortgages, personal loans and credit cards. The point of this initiative is for users to make “quick, well-informed [financial] decisions” when it comes to all options available. iMoney’s services are currently provided for free.

On top of these comparison services, iMoney has also created a large library of financially related content. This library of articles aims to “educate the general public” concerning financial decision-making and simplifying technical financial processes. An example includes this well-thought out infographic called The Anatomy Of A Credit Card Transaction.

Currently the company has a shop set up in Kuala Lumpur and is planning on expanding its market into the rest of South East Asia. Next on the list seems to be Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Founder of AVG, Tim Marbahc, says that iMoney brings the rising South East Asian middle class and their banks “together more efficiently than ever before by disrupting their interaction using internet technology.” This, he says, “is a huge opportunity.”

According to the company, iMoney already averages 150 000 visitors per month and generates more than US$50-million in business for financial institutions per month. CEO Lee Ching Wei says that iMoney was born mostly out of frustration that “there wasn’t a public portal where consumers could easily go to compare interest rates and apply for loans and financial products online”.

Most financial services we’ve come across offer users a platform where the greater the input– the better the output. In other words, the more personal data you upload to the site, the better you can have a clear idea of what your financial situation or future looks like. They merely digest information. iMoney, on the other hand, is one of the rare services that offer users information about finances.