South Korean startup Travel Wallet raises $10M from Lightspeed

South Korea-based fintech company Travel Wallet has raised $10 million from global venture capital firm Lightspeed, marking the VC's first-ever investment in a South Korean company.

In fact, it is also Travel Wallet’s first time attracting capital from a global VC, the company said in a statement. 

The Seoul-headquartered fintech startup provides convenient and economical financial services for international travellers. It offers a platform where users can exchange various foreign currencies at competitive rates and supports features such as real-time exchange rate monitoring, currency exchange, and balance management through its dedicated app.

“Our cloud technology is gaining global recognition. There is a higher understanding of our technology abroad compared to Korea. We plan to actively pursue international expansion with global investors like Lightspeed,” said Hyoungwoo Kim, CEO of Travel Wallet.

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“We heard a lot of positive feedback from industry practitioners and real customer love from Travel Wallet customers. When we engaged the team, we came away very impressed by the strong expertise in the foreign exchange market and payment technology. Travel Wallet’s innovation extends beyond the B2C sector into the B2B realm," said Pinn Lawjindakul, Partner, Lightspeed.

The company's B2C prepaid card, Travel Pay, supports real-time exchange and payments in  46 different currencies worldwide. As of April 2024, it has issued a total of 5.3 million cards in South Korea. Travel Wallet also launched B2B payment solutions.

Further, it has established local subsidiaries in the US and Japan and expects significant outcomes from its global expansion efforts starting in the latter half of this year. 

Lightspeed manages approximately $25 million in assets under management globally. The VC invests in enterprise, consumer, healthcare, and fintech startups.