Plan B Media Public Company Limited and Master Ad Public Company Limited have also announced their involvement in the US$41M committed investment round.

In a regional and industry-first move, publicly traded multimedia companies, a major Thai bank and internationally renowned venture capital firms have pulled together to boost this startup further into orbit, a clear signal that digital assets have entered the mainstream in a major way.

Such an investment makes Bank of Ayudhya, part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the first banks globally, and the first in Southeast Asia, to invest in a digital asset platform. The move puts the bank ahead of other large banks in the region who have recently made moves in the digital asset space - a fact which demonstrates increasing institutional buy-in to the space.

“This commitment from Krungsri Finnovate is a huge step forward for us. It represents not only the validation of our business model and approach to innovation, but also of the potential for digital assets to become a core part of our lifestyle,” said Zipmex CEO, Marcus Lim. “A marriage of digital assets and traditional banking can provide new innovative use cases for money, which we have demonstrated through ZipWorld. Further use cases of Zlaunch, and ZipNFT are just the starting point of where we can evolve to be banking forward, lifestyle focused.”

Krungsri Finnovate invests in startups from Series A onwards across a variety of fintech areas with strategic connections to Krungsri’s businesses, including blockchain, lending, e-commerce, insurtech, and cross-border remittance. Its portfolio companies include Grab, Flash Express, Synqa and Finnomena.

“Krungsri Finnovate places great importance on technology and financial innovation in every way. We believe that tech and innovation will be the driver of economical and society-focused solutions to the country’s future” states Mr. Sam Tanskul, Managing Director at Krungsri Finnovate. “The close cooperation between us and Zipmex is a strong indication that we are in full support of financial development and innovation through different technological means and a strong belief that Zipmex will play a crucial role in such developments not just in Thailand, but in the Asia-Pacific region. Krungsri believes that this is an important opportunity for the Bank to dive into the digital assets industry and build a strong ecosystem that would provide solutions to our customers’ changing needs. Furthermore, since we are part of MUFG, a world class financial institution with presence in over 50 countries, we are able to provide Zipmex with all the synergies it may need to tap into in Asia and the rest of the world” he added.

This also marks the first time in Southeast Asia for listed multinational media companies to tap into the digital asset trend, which has the potential to transform the realm of financial landscape and lifestyle. Plan B Media is one of the largest and most innovative media companies in Thailand, which specialises in out-of-home media and engagement marketing, while Master Ad (MACO), is the media leader for billboards and street furniture with an extensive media footprint across SEA.

“We believe Zipmex has one of the most promising teams of talent in the industry. They have a clear vision to ignite this digital asset revolution and have strong execution capabilities demonstrated by a solid track record since their launch. We look forward to supporting their growth with our network of integrated media and content portfolio. The digital asset space provides many opportunities for us to strengthen our ecosystem in the engagement marketing space including sports, artist management, and gaming. We are confident that this investment and partnership will secure Plan B’s vision to be a leader in innovation.” Pinijsorn Luechaikajohnpan, PhD, Managing Director of Plan B Media.

Additionally, Hong Kong-based, MindWorks Capital joins returning US-based investor, Jump Capital, which led Zipmex’s oversubscribed Series A round earlier this January, have also signed onto the round - a testament to Zipmex’s ability to attract investors from all parts of the globe. Zipmex has also received interest from other high profile regional and global investors, of which further details will be announced in the coming weeks. The new investment and partnerships will help Zipmex reach millions of customers across the Asia-Pacific region effectively.

The only digital assets platform licensed in Thailand which operates under regulatory supervision in Indonesia and Australia, and under a current notified regulatory exemption in Singapore, Zipmex is on a mission to educate, excite and enrich everyone and anyone by breaking down barriers to and associated with digital assets. Users get access to a variety of financial services such as interest-bearing accounts on their crypto-wallets. To date, the platform has processed over US$4 billion in gross transaction volume since its launch in late 2019.

Spend, save, and earn with products made for digital asset holders.
Aside from its fast, liquid and secure digital asset platform, Zipmex has focused on expanding the number of ways in which its users can earn and spend, underpinned by its native ZMT token. The “earn” products include ZipUp — a flexible earnings account with daily payouts up to 8% APY, and ZipLock - a fixed-term earnings account with yields up to 14% per annum with bonus APY for ZMT holders.

ZipSpend, a digital asset payment solution for businesses looking to accept cryptocurrency as payment, has already facilitated several regional-firsts in luxury vehicles, art, and property transactions. Earlier this month, the company announced Zipmex Card, a new Visa-backed payment card to be launched later this year. This will give Zipmex users the freedom to spend their digital assets at the more than 70 million merchants from Visa’s global payments network.

Recently Zipmex launched ZipWorld — a world of digital assets where users who hold ZMT can unlock exclusive lifestyle products and one-of-a-kind experiences using ZMT, and intends to soon launch ZLaunch — a platform that gives holders early access to new investment tokens. A beta version of ZipWorld has already been launched in Thailand with expansions to the other three markets on the horizon. Zipmex also plans to integrate ZipWorld with the booming non-fungible token (NFT) space.

“As digital assets have become increasingly popular, so has the demand for earn and spend products. ZipSpend and the Zipmex Card aim to revolutionise payments across the region by offering users greater flexibility, while ZipUp, ZipLock, ZipWorld, and ZLaunch provide unprecedented earning opportunities,” added Mr. Lim. “It is also important to note that any product we release will have to be approved by the relevant regulatory bodies first.”

In Singapore, Zipmex, through its subsidiary, Zipmex Pte Ltd, is currently in advanced stages of applying for a Major Payment Institution licence application with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for, among others, digital payment token services.

Zipmex is also about to launch a new marketing campaign centred around the possibilities of access for all to the power of digital payments. The campaign will feature new global positioning and branding which will be showcased throughout Plan B Media’s and MACO’s out-of-home assets.