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GIMO bags US$1.9M to improve financial stability for blue-collar workers in Vietnam

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GIMO, a Vietnam-based on-demand pay solution provider, has secured US$1.9 million in a seed financing round led by Singapore’s Integra Partners.

Resolution Ventures, Blauwpark Partners, and TNB AURA VN Scout also co-invested.

In March, the firm received undisclosed seed funding from ThinkZone Ventures, BK Fund, and other strategic angel investors.

As per a press note, the fresh financing will assist GIMO in strengthening its financial stability and accelerating financial inclusion throughout Southeast Asia. GIMO also plans to allocate a portion of the funding to hire more senior engineers, enhance risk management competencies, and leverage customer experience through advanced technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Also read: All you need to know about the fintech boom in Vietnam

Launched in early 2021, Gimo offers earned wage access (EWA) to employees ahead of their payday, helping them deal with unexpected financial expenses. Workers can receive their salary almost instantly via a mobile app integrated with the company’s payroll system.

The app also reports users’ workdays and daily earnings in real-time, alongside personal finance tips.

“Blue-collar workers are among the most vulnerable to financial distress. When unexpected bills arise, they don’t have a lot of safe and affordable options. GIMO looks to change that,” said GIMO co-founder and CEO Quan Anh Nguyen. “By helping workers get paid as they earn it, we hope to give them the peace of mind to focus on what matters.”

In the long run, besides paycheques, GIMO aims to create a digital financial platform that will allow blue-collar workers to organise their money better — be it spending, savings, or investments.

For employers, GIMO’s solution can be a supplementary financial resource for businesses to reduce payroll risks and optimise internal cash flow.

At the height of COVID-19, employers worldwide, including Walmart, Pizza Hut and Visa, are also turning to EWA solutions to reduce turnover, enhance productivity, and increase business savings.

To date, GIMO claims to have provided on-demand pay to over 25,000 workers, primarily in the manufacturing and retail sectors. The number of beneficiaries has grown 130 per cent monthly, states the company.

According to a Fitch Ratings report, around 290 million people in Southeast Asia are unbanked or do not get access to formal financial services.

Also read: wagely bags US$5.6M to give Indonesia’s low-paid workers access to their earned wages

GIMO joins other regional firms such as Indonesia’s wagely and GajiGesa to double down on improving financial stability for workers through EWA. Other noted EWA providers are US-based Payactiv, UK-based Wagestream, Mexican firm Minu, and US-based Even. 

Dailypay, a leading US-based EWA provider, raised US$500 million this year and reached unicorn status. Payactiv also counts more than two million users and has processed more than US$5 billion in earned wage access. This highlight the tremendous potential of the space.

“It would be impossible for EWA firms in Vietnam to copy the business model of those based in the US or UK, where personnel records and salary information are more transparent,” said Nguyen. “That’s why here at GIMO, we customise our product offerings to match employers’ payroll systems and welfare policies.”

In Vietnam, nearly two-thirds of the adult population does not have a bank account, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2017. To deal with urgent payments, they often rely on expensive financial services such as long-term, large-ticket-size bank loans or high-interest-rate loans.

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Image Credit: GIMO

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