By SGN | 28 Oct 2025
Caecilia Chu grew up in a modest household, living in a subsidised public housing estate for low-income families. Her father, a postman, and her mother, a kindergarten teacher, worked tirelessly, living paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet.
“When I was five, I vividly remember my father trying to secure a bank loan to start a business. Despite knocking on countless doors, he was unsuccessful,” she shared. This early experience left a profound impact on Caecilia, thus shaping her belief that every mass-market consumer, whether banked or not, is underserved.
When the opportunity to create YouTrip arose, Caecilia saw it as her life’s mission to make financial services truly fair, accessible, and transparent for all.
Today, as the co-founder and CEO of YouTrip, she remains steadfast in her commitment to this vision, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their financial standing, receives equal treatment with the best products and pricing.
Rooted in the philosophy of life's Four Essential Pillars
Growing up, Caecilia’s mother often reminded her of the importance of understanding life’s essentials – what you wear, what you eat, where you live, and how you commute, encapsulated by the Cantonese saying 衣食住行 (yi sik jyu hang).
As Caecilia navigated life, she found herself pondering this principle. Over time, it became clear to her that one key service connects all these essentials – financial services.
“Think about how you pay for things, how you finance a house, and how you manage your daily expenses. It all comes down to finance,” she explains. “I thought, if I could offer financial and payment services effectively, I could make a real difference in people’s lives.”
With this vision in mind, Caecilia’s natural talent for mathematics and dedication to academics earned her scholarships for her undergraduate finance degree at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by an MBA at Harvard Business School.
Applying lessons from the finance industry
After graduation, Caecilia took up a role at McKinsey & Company, where she advised financial institutions across Asia on product development and growth strategies. This was followed by a stint at Citigroup, where she oversaw growth investments in the technology and consumer sectors.
“At Citi and McKinsey, I learned to identify exactly what drove business success, while staying focused and composed when making strategic decisions,” she reflects.
Following her time in Silicon Valley, Caecilia soon found herself immersed in China’s booming fintech sector, with stints at wealth management platform Lufax and mobile payments company QF Pay. Little did she know, these experiences would spark the idea for something much bigger.
“In China, we saw everyone – individuals and businesses alike – using their mobile phones to make payments. It was clear to us that this was the future of financial services,” she says.
“Southeast Asia was the perfect region for us to target – it’s incredibly diverse, fragmented, and teeming with untapped opportunities,” Caecilia explains.
“Travellers and businesses were facing all these payment challenges, like unfavourable exchange rates, high transaction fees, and a lack of unified digital payment tools.”
Fuelled by a determination to solve these issues and harness technology to create financial solutions that offer unmatched value, convenience, and reliability, Caecilia packed her bags and moved to Singapore in 2018 to embark on their new venture.
The perfect launchpad for YouTrip
When Caecilia arrived in Singapore, she instantly knew she was in the right place.
“Every conversation we had revolved around travel. People were constantly talking about where they had been for their holiday or work trip, and where they were planning to go next,” she recalls.
“It quickly became clear that the multi-currency issue was a major challenge in the region, and one that needed to be addressed urgently.”
Additionally, one of the key reasons Caecilia chose Singapore as the base for YouTrip was the robust support she received from the government during the early stages of the company’s development.
“Singapore’s commitment to supporting startups and innovation has been crucial to YouTrip’s success. From the very beginning, we’ve thrived in an environment that encourages experimentation and the development of new ideas,” she adds.
To establish YouTrip, Caecilia proactively engaged with government agencies such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and participated in knowledge-sharing initiatives and working groups.
With the support of the Singapore government, YouTrip was born.
Changing the way we consume amidst the pandemic
After successfully relocating to Singapore and smoothly launching YouTrip, things seemed to be going steadily for Caecilia. But then came the pandemic.
“When COVID-19 hit, everything we knew and loved came to a screeching halt. Travel was one of the hardest-hit sectors,” she recalls. “As a travel-centric fintech company, that was the core of what we did. For a while, we faced an existential crisis.”
Yet, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. By staying agile and understanding the evolving needs of their users, the team quickly identified new opportunities beyond travel.
“With everyone cooped up at home during the pandemic, there was a surge in e-commerce activity. That made us realise: why not diversify into e-commerce?” Caecilia explains.
This shift led to the launch of YouTrip’s B2B proposition, YouBiz, which focuses on B2B payments for e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada. This strategic move created a comprehensive and reliable e-payment wallet for consumers and allowed YouTrip to stay relevant and resilient in an ever-shifting landscape.
“At a time when international travel and tourism took a heavy hit, we grew stronger, adapted quickly, and pivoted to B2B payments,” Caecilia says. “I’m incredibly proud of what the YouTrip team has accomplished since we started.”
Establishing a new home in Singapore
Adapting to life in Singapore came naturally to Caecilia, thanks to the country’s vibrant and welcoming community. She quickly connected with like-minded people through industry initiatives and associations.
“Beyond the major conferences, smaller gatherings organised by groups like Singapore Global Network, Enterprise Singapore, and the Singapore Fintech Association provided a more personal setting for meaningful connections,” she shares. “Some of my most rewarding experiences have been meeting inspiring people through these engagements.”
But Caecilia’s journey in Singapore hasn’t been just about building connections; it’s also about giving back. Having benefited from the Singapore government’s support during YouTrip’s early days, she is committed to paying it forward.
“Through initiatives like Fintech Gives Back, which is organised by MAS and the Singapore Fintech Association, we actively support and inspire the next generation of innovators,” she explains.
“Community is important for personal and professional growth,” she says.
Continuing to shape the future of how you trip
Reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey, Caecilia credits her father as her greatest inspiration.
“With minimal savings, little experience, and no formal business education, he took a leap of faith and built an accounting firm from the ground up. His courage and determination taught me that in entrepreneurship, it’s not just the destination but the journey that truly matters,” she shares.
That spirit of resilience and innovation continues to guide Caecilia as she looks to the future of YouTrip. Having successfully launched the company and navigated it through the challenges of a global pandemic, she is now focused on regional expansion and is partnering with trusted local stakeholders in each market.
“We’re bringing YouTrip to more markets across Asia Pacific, because we want more people to benefit from inclusive and accessible cross-border payments,” she explains.
“We are also trying to deepen our product innovation in existing markets, with new features like remittance services and expanded wallet currency options,” she explains.
In addition to growing YouTrip, Caecilia is steering YouBiz’s development, introducing new functionalities to help businesses streamline their financial operations and compete globally.
“The future of fintech is incredibly exciting. More businesses, especially SMEs, are adopting digitalisation, and technologies like cashless payments are really taking off,” she says.
“We will continue to innovate and create inclusive payment solutions to meet the evolving needs of businesses and consumers across the region.”
As for aspiring entrepreneurs, Caecilia offers a piece of hard-earned wisdom.
“Entrepreneurship is a challenging and unpredictable path but having the courage to embrace the unknown is what truly matters. If you don’t take the leap, you’ll never discover what you’re capable of achieving.”
About Caecilia
Caecilia is the co-founder and CEO of YouTrip, a regional financial technology company dedicated to creating the next generation of digital finance services for consumers and businesses across the Asia Pacific.
Connect with her here.
