Built by parents for parents

• There are more than 300 fintech companies in Malaysia, but only one that serves children: 500-backed Vircle.
• Founder & CEO Gokula Krishnan Subramaniam spotted a glaring gap in the market, “The world is going cashless, but kids still face high friction when it comes to going cashless because of the limitations on their banking access.”
• Vircle works directly with schools to provide a prepaid card that students use to purchase various items from their school’s online store. Parents top up the e-wallet with any amount on an app.
• Students can do a variety of financial tasks, from purchasing books and school uniforms to planning their savings and even monitoring their food intake.
• “Our concept revolves around ‘purpose-bound money,’ where parents allocate funds to their kids with specific rules about how and where the money can be spent. This way, children can learn how to manage money within safe parameters,” he elaborated.
• The company also introduced the Vircle Visa card, a child-safe debit card that comes with programmable parental controls. Parents can even block specific merchant categories, disable online purchases to harmful websites, or even turn off ATM withdrawals.
• The team currently serves 70 schools, with more being onboarded. Transaction volumes are growing by 8% to 10% per month, and Gokula hopes to breakeven by 2025.
• They are also looking to acquire a company in Malaysia and form a joint venture with a partner in Southeast Asia for overseas expansion.
• Gokula’s target? To ensure that Vircle is present in three countries by 2026.
• Read the full story on Tech in Asia.