MyCash Online raises RM1.3mil in equity crowdfunding drive

KUALA LUMPUR: MyCash Online, a financial technology (fintech) start-up, has raised RM1.3mil in its equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign within 24 hours via pitchIN, the national crowdfunding platform.

In a statement today, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd said, it had led the funding round together with its Hong Kong-based co-investor, JC Management Ltd, by investing RM1.2mil, while other investors pumped in RM100,000 in the MyCash Online ECF campaign, which went live on June 1.

It said MyCash Online provided online services to the “unbanked” - those who did not have access to banks or financial institutions, such as foreign workers, through a platform that offers online purchasing services.

Among other things, users could reload their phone credit, pay bills and purchase bus tickets, it said.

The fintech company said it was also seeking regulatory approval to build and operate innovative remittances and banking services for the same target market and hoped to become a ‘’virtual bank for the unbanked’’.

“The company had also made history by becoming the first fintech company to successfully raise funds through equity crowdfunding in Malaysia,” it said.

MyCash Online Chief Executive Officer, Mehedi Hasan Sumon, said the company would like to thank Cradle and JC Management for participating as lead investors.

“Their investments are a validation of the potential of the market we are addressing.

“We will now be able to ramp up our services and do our part to bring our customers into the digital age through innovative services,” he said.

MyCash Online, launched in April 2016, has since served 65,000 unbanked customers and carried out over 280,000 transactions worth RM4.3mil, to-date.  

Cradle chief investment officer, Juliana Jan, said Cradle saw the potential in MyCash Online because it addressed the needs of the migrants.

“There are more than three million migrants in Malaysia and 90% of them do not have access to banks or financial institutions, and the e-marketplace that MyCash Online operates provides the infrastructure for the migrants,” she said. - Bernama