Singapore’s Traveler Shopping App utu Raises $33 Million and Acquires CardsPal

Singapore’s utu has raised $33 million and acquired the rewards platform CardsPal.

The acquisition and funding, announced Monday (June 26), is designed to help consumers get the most out of tax-free shopping, the company said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

“The cross-border travel market is ripe for a technology-driven transformation, with tax-free shopping presenting vast untapped potential,” utu Co-founder and CEO Asad Jumabhoy said in the announcement.

According to the release, travelers that use utu’s tax-free card can gain added value by choosing frequent flier miles or hotel points over cash refunds, or an immediate store voucher equivalent of up to 120% of the value added tax (VAT) or GST tax paid while shopping overseas.

Retailers and airlines, meanwhile, get the opportunity to potentially boost their revenues from tourist shopping, the company added.

“By enhancing the value of VAT and GST refunds for travelers, we’ve reimagined the cross-border retail experience and devised a technology-based business model unlocking previously inaccessible value,” Jumabhoy said.

The company’s funding/acquisition comes amid a bounce-back in global travel, which — as PYMNTS noted last month — flies in the face of skyrocketing airfare and hotel costs.

This recovery, that report said, makes a “strong case for travel merchants to up their performance when it comes to streamlining local requirements, managing foreign exchange (FX), and providing consumers with payment methods of choice, no matter what region they’re paying in, or where they’re going.”

In an interview with PYMNTS, Ivan Guerrero, director of airlines and travel EMEA, digital commerce division at Worldline, said that as global travel continues its recovery, merchants can make the most of that momentum by offering efficient and localized cross-border payments.

This is “very important when we talk about an industry such as the airline and travel industry, which is global by essence,” he said, “but very local if you want to reach the consumers in their own language, in their own currency, in their own country,” as they book their trips.

Guerrero pointed to preferred local payment methods as the key consideration, noting the historical and cultural aspects that make localization a crucial tool in conversion. Another important element is optimizing currency conversion.

“If I am in Thailand, if I’m a Thai consumer, I want to ensure that I can pay in my own currency,” Guerrero said. “That gives me comfort, that gives me security, and that makes it … easier for me to click on that buy button.”