“In Cantonese, we have this saying: yi sek ju hang (衣食住行). It conveys what’s most important in life – what you wear, what you eat, where you live, and how you commute,” says Caecilia Chu.
This saying was taught to the entrepreneur by her mother, and has always resonated deeply with the Her World Young Woman Achiever 2023. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Caecilia moved to Singapore in 2017. The Singapore Permanent Resident shares that her humble beginnings meant that she realised the importance of money early in life. “My dad was a postman and my mum was a kindergarten teacher, and having grown up without much, my life goals have always revolved around satisfying the essential needs of yi sek ju hang (衣食住行).”
The 40-year-old elaborates: “I told myself that if I could do a really good job in my career when it comes to banking, finance, and payments, then I can address the fundamental needs that would really impact the lives of others.”
Today, as the CEO and co-founder of Youtrip, Singapore’s first multi-currency mobile wallet, Caecilia is indeed making an impact when it comes to people’s finances, especially in the space of cross-border payments.
In 2018, she launched Youtrip, a fintech platform that allows individuals to use a prepaid Mastercard card to pay in more than 150 currencies – whether they’re travelling or shopping online – without incurring extra currency conversion fees or markups. Effectively disrupting the once opaque foreign exchange payments scene, Youtrip has transformed the way people transact when they travel. Being among the first worldwide to roll out its wallet feature, it’s also the first home-grown multi-currency mobile player in the market.
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