IMoney
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Finance |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Bruno Araujo, Ching Wei Lee |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Malaysia |
| Products | Credit Cards, Home Loans, Personal Loans, Health Insurance, Car Insurance, Broadband |
| Services | Financial Services |
| Website | www |
iMoney.my ("iMoney") is a personal finance company with the mission to empower consumers to make intelligent money decisions by comparing and applying for financial and utility products through its comparison platform imoney1[1]
It also aims to equip consumers with financial knowledge through its Learning Centre and financial tools like the iMoney CreditScore.
Founded in 2012 by Lee Ching Wei, iMoney has since worked with over 50 financial services partners including banks, government bodies, and fintech companies to help build financial literacy in consumers.
As of August 2020, iMoney is part of JurisTech, a Malaysian-based fintech company which specializes in enterprise-class software solutions for banks, financial institutions, insurance providers and telecommunications companies in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
History
2012
In early 2012, Lee Ching Wei ("Ching"), co-Founder of iMoney quit his investment banking job in Melbourne, gave up an Australian permanent residency permit and returned home to Malaysia.[1]
The idea for iMoney formed as Ching went from bank to bank in attempt to compare and apply for a suitable savings account and credit card. Upon finding the comparison process tedious and full of financial jargon, Ching decided to pursue the idea of launching a platform that will help consumers like himself compare and apply for personal financial products.[2]
By June 2012, iMoney.my was established with investments from angel investors.[3]
2013
Exactly a year later, iMoney received USD 500,000 in seed funding from Asia Venture Group.[4] Later, they received a USD 140,000 (RM500,000) grant from Cradle Fund — an agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Finance,[5] and USD 2 million from a group of venture capital funds including Jungle Ventures and 500 Startups.[6] In November 2013, iMoney.my entered into a regional collaboration with financial literacy provider MoneyTree.[7]
2014
In June 2014, iMoney.my released a home loan calculator mobile application to help consumers apply for home loans directly from the app.[8] In October 2014, iMoney.my announced a USD 4 million investment from ASX listed entity iSelect Ltd.[9][10]
2015
In September 2015, iMoney's Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Bruno Araujo stepped up as Chief Operations Officer (COO). In addition to that, Mitul Lakhani was brought in as CFO and Amanda Woo took on the CMO post. Chris Antonius joined the team as Managing Director for iMoney’s Indonesian property Aturduit.[11]
2017
In October, iSelect, a financial comparison company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, announced that it has acquired a majority stake of iMoney.[12]
In the same year, iMoney launched the iMoney CreditScore in Malaysia to allow people to check their credit score online for free - one of the first companies to do so. This facility is powered by Experian (formerly known as RAM Credit Information), a credit bureau agency.[citation needed]
2018
Mitul Lakhani stepped up as the Group CEO, while Ching, the Founder of iMoney took up the Chief Innovation Officer post.
2020
iSelect, iMoney's largest shareholder, announced that it will be exiting the company. Citing the financial impact of COVID-19, iSelect sold its stake to one of the iMoney founders.[13]
By the end of August, JurisTech, a Malaysian-based fintech company, announced that it has acquired iMoney for an undisclosed sum. Commenting on the acquisition, Ching said, "With the technology capabilities of JurisTech, we can now provide a better experience to consumers including more refined product matching capabilities and improve customer journey to make applying financial products easier”.[14]
Locations
The company is headquartered in Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur, in the same venue as its parent company, JurisTech.[15]
References
- ^ https://www.endeavormalaysia.org/people/Lee-Ching-Wei
- ^ https://www.asianentrepreneur.org/ching-wei-lee-co-founder-of-imoney/
- ^ "Ching Wei Lee, co-founder of iMoney". AsianEntrepreneur.org. 23 September 2013.
- ^ "iMoney gets US$500K seed funding, targets SEA expansion". www.digitalnewsasia.com. 6 June 2013.
- ^ "Cradle offers iMoney with RM500,000 funding". The Sun (Malaysia). 26 June 2013.
- ^ "Malaysia-Based iMoney Raises $2M Series A To Help Consumers Compare Financial Services". TechCrunch. 24 October 2013.
- ^ "IMoney and MoneyTree enter collaboration". The Star (Malaysia). 11 November 2013.
- ^ "iMoney releases Malaysia's first home loan calculator, with loan application feature". The Malaysian Insider. 25 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "Australia-listed iSelect invests RM13mil in Malaysia's iMoney Group". The Star (Malaysia). 25 September 2014.
- ^ "iSelect Website".
- ^ "iMoney makes major management shifts".
- ^ https://www.techinasia.com/iselect-controlling-stake-imoney
- ^ https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/imoneys-largest-shareholder-exits-company
- ^ https://juristech.net/juristech/juristech-acquires-personal-finance-company-imoney/
- ^ "Malaysia's iMoney spreads tentacles across Asia". The Malaysian Insider. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.