Curlec, a Malaysian fintech startup, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from 500 Startups, according to a press statement.
The fresh funds will be used by the company to grow its Malaysian operations through product development and market expansion especially in Southeast Asia.
Established in 2018 as a bank-to-bank (B2B) payment system that brings direct debit facilities to businesses of all sizes, Curlec builds technology on top of the direct debit B2B payment infrastructure in order to offer easier debit access to smaller companies.
“Our vision has always been to enable businesses of all sizes to access the previously inaccessible Direct Debit system,” said Zac Liew, co-founder of Curlec.
Small to medium-sized businesses can often face trouble while accessing the direct debit system. That is because the system has mostly been paper-based while other custom-developed software needed to deal with individual banks.
Curlec allows businesses to utilise its platform via a simple API that automates the entire collection workflow, putting companies in control of their cash flow and when they get paid.
During the global health pandemic, the startup claims to have experienced an acceleration of merchants moving to subscription businesses models. This was because more founders have realised the value of obtaining more predictable sources of income in the future.
“As the market continues to evolve, we are also expanding our vision further also to help businesses grow by enabling them to enter the subscription economy firstly in Malaysia, and then Southeast Asia,” said Liew.
“In light of Covid-19, we continue to see growth in our offering, with many traditional businesses having to shift online. Despite the lockdown in Malaysia, we are continuing to average 20 per cent month-on-month growth this year in transaction volumes, which just highlights the current demand that businesses have to move towards online recurring payments,” he continued.
During the pandemic, many fintech companies in the Southeast Asian market experienced a rise in popularity as the customers become more careful about cash transaction and moving their shopping activities online.
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Image Credit: Curlec
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