With over 200,000 app downloads and over a million transactions facilitated on its digital debit card service, YouTrip is planning on adding more currencies and partners to its ecosystem.
According to Caecilia Chu, Co-Founder, and CEO of YouTrip, raising $25.5 million in Series A funding means that the business is ready to tap into more regions, backed by Mastercard and integration with EZ-Link.
“Our users first-touch with YouTrip as a brand typically starts from a conversation with their friends,” said Chu. “We are very fortunate to have a product that kickstarted conversations from opinion leaders in various social settings, and word-of-mouth (i.e. referrals) have been a huge contributor to getting new users onboard YouTrip.”
Tapping into an existing referral program, new users can earn bonus credits in their wallets to active promo code distribution, incentivizing their first YouTrip purchase experience. If the customer experience is positive, Chu said that internal data suggest that users will then explore the remaining benefits of the service.
“Resources are continuously invested to connect with our existing user base through community outreach efforts, content curation, and social media strategies,” said Chu. “The aim is to ensure that there are sufficient high touchpoints, such that our users constantly remain involved in our engagement efforts.”
In May, the FinTech company launched a campaign concept called “YouTrip It Instead” featuring a two-part series of videos on offline mediums located at high traffic areas in and around the central business district and on public buses.
A microsite was used to amplify the campaign with an online context, engaging visitors through a series of hints published on paid social media pages of YouTrip. The campaign aimed to strike a nerve with prospective users that go to great lengths to save money while overseas.
“We rely on a rigorous data-driven process through various marketing platforms to determine the effectiveness of our marketing conversions,” said Chu. “A similar process through setting up data points within the YouTrip mobile application is also used for deeper analysis of our product usage behaviors. This helps us to better understand what works and what doesn’t, leading to the creation of meaningful engagement with our users.”
