Malaysian Neobank Vircle Secures Seed Funding for Kid-Focused Banking

Vircle, a Malaysian neobanking service provider focused on children, has obtained seed funding. The investment was made by Kumpulan Modal Perdana (KMP) and Gobi Partners, although the exact amount was not disclosed.

Gobi Dana Impak Ventures Involved in Funding

The funding was facilitated through Gobi Dana Impak Ventures (GDIV), a part of the Future Malaysia Programme by Khazanah Nasional. This initiative is aimed at supporting the startup ecosystem in the country.

Expansion to Public Schools

Vircle has already established partnerships with multiple private and international schools across Malaysia. The seed funding will be utilized to broaden its services to public schools throughout the country.

Financial Literacy for Kids

The Vircle app serves as a regulated financial tool, giving parents a means to help their children understand the cashless and digital banking environment. The app includes features like Missions, Savings, and Spending controls, allowing kids to gain important money management skills.

Vircle was launched in March 2021 by Gokula Krishnan Subramaniam, a veteran with over 20 years of experience in various fields including research and development, engineering, product, commercial, solutions, and sales.

Vircle’s Mission

Subramaniam stated that Vircle aims to provide a safe introduction to the cashless world for children, giving them experiential learning opportunities while also ensuring parental oversight. The neobank’s ultimate goal is to bank one million Malaysian children and a total of three million children across Southeast Asia within the next five years.

Addressing Financial Access Gap

Co-founder and Chairperson of Gobi, Thomas G. Tsao, praised Vircle’s efforts to provide banking services to children in a region where 160 million kids lack access to banking services. He highlighted Vircle’s focus on cultivating crucial money management skills, thus addressing a significant gap in the educational system and households across Southeast Asia.