Startup with daily salary payment app bags $3 mln funding

By Thuy Tien May 13, 2021 | 09:31 pm PT

Workers at a construction site in HCMC. Photo by Shutterstock/Jonas Petrovas.

Nano Technologies, a startup that has developed an app which allows workers to access accrued wages without waiting for payday, has raised $3 million in pre-seed and seed funding.

The funding started last year but has only now been revealed, with Venture capital firms Golden Gate Ventures of Singapore and Venturra Discovery of Indonesia leading the pre-seed round.

Goodwater Capital of the U.S. and Openspace Ventures of Singapore took part in the seed funding.

Nano Vietnam Service Technology Company, its formal name, was founded last year by Dang Viet Dung and Nguyen Viet Thang.

Dung, who used to be general manager of ride-hailing firm Uber from 2014-2017, is the CEO of Nano and Thang is CTO (Chief Technology Officer).

The startup offers to companies earned wage access (EWA), which allows their employees to withdraw some of their accrued wages at any time in the payroll cycle through an application named VUI.

It also shows workers' total incomes based on their working days and provides financial management education to users.

Dung said with the app workers do not have to seek out loan sharks who charge interest rates of 300-500 percent, enabling companies to improve employee retention.

Dang said the app, now being used by more than 20,000 workers, is designed for workers whose monthly incomes are less than VND15 million ($650.73).