Experian leads US$10mil funding in Jirnexu

• Enable RinggitPlus.com to provide consumers with tailored experiences
• Consumers will enjoy enhanced access to financial information

EXPERIAN, a leader in information services, is leading a Series B follow-on investment in Jirnexu. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Jirnexu is a fintech pioneer in Southeast Asia, operating RinggitPlus.com, a Malaysian comparison website for financial products such as credit cards, loans and insurance products.

This investment and injection of Experian’s technology will enable RinggitPlus.com to provide consumers with tailored experiences, by matching each consumer to the financial institutions and products that are right for them.

Consumers will enjoy enhanced access to financial information, better and more personalised user experience as well as fairer access to credit.

The other investor in this Series B follow-on round includes SBI Group, with Experian leading the US$10 million overall funding. Off the back of a US$11 million Series B round earlier this year led by the SBI Group, RinggitPlus.com continues to grow and is on track to hit 100% growth in 2018.

In August this year, RinggitPlus.com pushed out Southeast Asia’s first end-to-end motor insurance renewal, facilitated by a chatbot. Bank Negara Malaysia recently approved Jirnexu’s request to expand their regulatory sandbox approval.

The previous approval was for digital insurance distribution for Motor and Term Life. With the latest approval, it will enable Jirnexu to offer a total of 5 types of insurance (Motor, Term Life, Travel, Medical & Health and Critical Illness) on RinggitPlus.com.

As part of its digital transformation efforts, the Malaysian government has been investing in resources and technology to promote more inclusive, informative and progressive finance for the nation.

The partnership with RinggitPlus is part of Experian’s ongoing commitment to build an ecosystem of financial marketplaces across the region, aimed at empowering lending institutions with better consumer insights and consumers in the region with greater financial access.

This further drives Experian’s investment in its Marketplaces solutions, which are centred around providing better insights into consumers, improving customer experiences and ultimately providing consumers with fairer access to credit.

Jirnexu chief executive officer Yuen Tuck Siew, said: “We are excited about this investment as it will enable us to personalize recommendations for our customers more accurately. The ability to match consumer profiles with suitable financial products or services will greatly improve access to credit. Besides technology from Experian, the investment will also be used to strengthen our services and FinTech solutions portfolio.”

Experian Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets managing director Dev Dhiman, said: “Malaysia is a key market for Experian, driven by our largest team in the region of nearly 850 people and partnerships with some of the country’s leading financial service providers. Our partnership is to support the nation’s efforts towards higher economic efficiency, through innovations in technology, digital transformation and financial inclusion.

“Working with RinggitPlus.com, we hope to match more local businesses and consumers with the financial services they need and deliver on our promise of matching the demand and supply of financial access in the region.