CardUp started as a simple idea: let people pay rent with credit cards to earn rewards. But that consumer-centric product evolved into a scalable B2B payments solution, unlocking credit card-based cash flow for SMEs.

In this episode of Open For Business, Diana Lim, Vice President of Partnerships and founding team member at CardUp, walks us through the platform’s early days, their product-market fit journey, and the pivot into SME solutions. We also unpack the rationale behind CardUp’s 2022 acquisition by Funding Societies, and how the deal supercharged expansion, cross-selling, and new product development.

Diana breaks down CardUp’s current product mix, its receivables solutions, and why their installment plan rollout in Malaysia could reshape SME financing. We also explore post-acquisition autonomy, regional expansion into Indonesia, and what it takes to make a payments model profitable in an era of lean startups and capital efficiency.

From USD 1B in transaction volume to doubling growth post-acquisition, this is the story of how and why CardUp tackled the payments space.

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