Vietnam’s leading digital bank Timo secures $20 million fresh funding led by Square Peg

The investment round is led by Square Peg, a leading global VC firm whose investments include unicorns such as Canva, FinAccel and Airwallex. Other participants are Jungle Ventures, Granite Oak, FinAccel, Phoenix Holdings (existing investor) and other super angels.

How Timo is redefining banking in Vietnam

Established in 2015, Timo is Vietnam’s first digital bank and has steadily evolved to become the country’s leader in digital banking. In 2019, the bank announced a strategic partnership with Viet Capital Bank, further accelerating its growth.

Timo – which stands for Time and Money – has consistently emphasized customer-centricity at its core. The company is widely recognized as being one of the first banks in Vietnam to offer eKYC services. Operating in a country where banking adoption rate is still relatively low, this helps customers save time during on-boarding and allows them to access other banking services online faster through its platform. More recently, the company has been accelerating its vision of social banking, recognizing that banking and financial services always are embedded in a broader context.

Securing the backing of Square Peg

With over US$1 billion in assets under management, Square Peg has backed category-defining companies including Southeast Asian fintech giants like Kredivo, StashAway and Pluang. Square Peg’s mission is to empower exceptional founders, and has invested over US$200M in Southeast Asian startups.

Tushar Roy, Square Peg Southeast Asia Partner said: “We have been impressed by the Timo team’s vision to transform banking in Vietnam. In a market with almost no other independent, digital-native players – Timo stood out from the crowd. It is a mission-oriented team aligned around creating beautiful experiences for customers and bringing more people in Vietnam into the financial ecosystem. We are excited to support Timo on its journey.”

Henry Nguyen, CEO Timo Digital Bank said: “This funding round is not only a signal that digital banking is the future in Vietnam, but It also demonstrates investors’ confidence that Timo is leading this important sector. We are deeply committed to our mission of setting the benchmark for modern banking in Vietnam while bringing greater financial inclusion and accessibility to the large majority of the population which remains unbanked. Timo aims to become the bank that is at the center of our customers’ financial lives. We are delighted to have world class investors led by Square Peg joining us on our journey.”