YouTrip burst onto Singapore’s financial scene in 2018 with the promise of fee-free overseas spending and payments. Since then, it has attracted over 500,000 users in Singapore eager to take advantage of its highly competitive foreign exchange rates.
But is YouTrip truly as good as it sounds? With any financial product promising exceptional rates, it’s only natural for Singaporeans to question if there is a catch.
In this brutally honest review, we analyse over 100 user reviews and complaints to determine if YouTrip is legit or an elaborate scam. By the end, you’ll have all the information needed to decide if YouTrip is right for your next overseas adventure.
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Table of Contents
Overview: How YouTrip Works
Before diving into the specifics, let’s quickly recap how YouTrip works:
Multi-currency e-wallet – YouTrip provides an e-wallet to store and exchange between 10 currencies. These include popular travel currencies like USD, JPY, EUR.
Prepaid debit Mastercard – The e-wallet is linked to a YouTrip debit card that can be used at any merchant accepting Mastercard worldwide with no foreign transaction fees.
Real-time exchange rates – YouTrip leverages wholesale FX rates provided by banking partners, which are extremely close to interbank rates with minimal spread.
This unique combination makes YouTrip very attractive for frequent travellers who can avoid expensive currency conversion fees charged by regular banks.
But while the value proposition seems almost too good to be true, YouTrip is a licensed Major Payment Institution regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This offers a strong level of accountability and security for users.
So on paper, YouTrip checks out fine. But does the actual user experience live up to expectations? Let’s find out!
YouTrip Reviews: What Real Singapore Users Say
To determine YouTrip’s legitimacy, we analysed over 100 reviews from popular consumer sites. Key themes and verbatim opinions are highlighted below:
Simple Signup Process
“Hassle-free and saves me the trouble of bringing cash around.”
Most users agree that getting started with YouTrip is quick and fuss-free, with the ability to sign up instantly using SingPass. Even manual signups only require uploading photos of your ID.
Receiving and Activating Card
“Received the card quite quickly, just in time for my year end trip.”
Delivery of the physical prepaid card usually occurs within 5 business days in Singapore. This convenient timing was appreciated by users heading abroad soon. Activating it via the YouTrip app and setting up Apple/Google Pay also proved straightforward.
Intuitive App Interface
“User friendly and easy to navigate. Totally idiot proof.”
The YouTrip app scores points for user experience, with most praising its simplicity when exchanging currencies or tracking expenses. Support for 10 popular travel currencies makes it easy for users to manage their overseas funds.
Competitive Exchange Rates
“Manage to get good JPY rates…Recommended my friends as well.”
Far and away the most unanimously praised aspect is YouTrip’s wholesale exchange rates. When benchmarked against regular bank cards and other multi-currency travel cards, YouTrip consistently offers significantly lower currency conversion fees.
Savvy users exchanged less common currencies like JPY, EUR and GBP ahead of trips to lock in near-perfect rates compared to online sources. The savings compared to money changers and banks are hugely substantial.
Smooth Overseas Usage
“Work as intended. Going to use it again in Japan during dec.”
When it comes to actually using YouTrip overseas, most experiences were seamless. Users encountered no issues tapping their YouTrip card or mobile wallet at Mastercard-accepting merchants abroad, with some having used it extensively across Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.
For peace of mind, YouTrip also provides instant overseas usage notifications and one-click card freezing via the app. These security features gave users confidence during foreign trips.
Overall, we analysed over 100 reviews across various sites like Reddit, Seedly, Google and App Store. The consensus is very positive, with YouTrip receiving praise for its simple application process, good interface and unmatched rates.
In terms of legitimacy, not a single review or complaint suggested that YouTrip was scamming users with its FX rates. Actual user experiences align very closely with its marketed proposition.
But no product is absolutely perfect. So in the spirit of an honest, well-balanced review, let’s talk about some of the drawbacks mentioned by users as well.
Common YouTrip Complaints
While generally positive, YouTrip does receive occasional complaints about specific aspects of their product:
Server and App Issues
“The YouTrip server did go down for a couple of hours while I was in Indonesia.”
A common grievance is occasional app and server glitches experienced while overseas, where payments fail to go through. While infrequent, it highlights reliance on YouTrip’s system uptime. Having a backup card is advised by users.
Lack of Recourse for Fraudulent Transactions
“I wasted time waiting for nothing and the representative did not even mention anything about filling out the form to me until I asked for some updates.”
YouTrip users who fell victim to fraudulent overseas transactions felt that support was evasive and chargeback requests lacked transparency. Waiting up to 12 weeks with vague progress updates causes major frustration.
However, this is an industry-wide issue faced by victims of payment fraud. Banks also provide similar advice to file police reports and documents before investigations occur.
Inability to Withdraw Funds
“I couldn’t find any way to withdraw the money once it was topped up into YouTrip.”
A consistent gripe is inability to transfer funds from YouTrip e-wallet back to a Singapore bank account. Users must spend their balance or forfeit remaining funds if they close their account. This reduces flexibility in managing YouTrip funds.
Steep Fees for Chargebacks and Inactivity
Should chargeback requests fail, YouTrip charges users a S$15 administrative fee. Similarly, accounts left inactive for a year are charged S$5. These penalties seem unfair to users wronged by forces out of their control.
Lack of Recurring Billing Support
As a prepaid debit card, YouTrip does not permit setting up recurring debit instructions for subscriptions. Users must manually top up fixed amounts monthly, which increases hassle.
Now these complaints are certainly valid inconveniences impacting aspects of the user experience. And YouTrip would do well to address issues regarding transaction security, account flexibility and fee structures.
However, analysing the full spectrum of reviews, none of these drawbacks inherently undermine YouTrip’s core value proposition of providing the best FX rates with no overseas fees. Avoiding exorbitant bank processing fees while travelling still makes YouTrip an attractive product for most.
Moreover, occasional server outages, fraud protection and withdrawals policies appear standard across prepaid travel cards and fintech platforms. So industry-wide improvements would benefit users even beyond just YouTrip.
Is YouTrip Safe? Security & Protection Analysis
As we weigh up YouTrip’s legitimacy, it’s crucial we analyse the security protections afforded to users against unintended account breaches or abuse of their personal information:
Solid fundamental security infrastructure
As a Major Payment Institution licensed by MAS, YouTrip has implemented stringent policies and systems to secure internal systems and user data in accordance with personal data protection laws. These include:
- End-to-end bank-grade encryption of all data in transit and stored on servers
- Secure socket layer encryption (SSL) across web properties using globally trusted certificates
- Constant system penetration tests by independent cybersecurity firms
- Ongoing staff awareness training for emerging cyberthreats
Dedicated in-house fraud monitoring team
To identify overseas transactions potentially tied to fraud, breaches or identity theft, YouTrip has an internal team performing manual and automated risk analysis 24/7.
YouTrip claims over 92% of fraudulent transactions are accurately flagged for card suspension or user notification to prevent escalation.
Convenient in-app card control and notifications
Despite the best technological precautions, card information can still be accidentally leaked or compromised externally beyond YouTrip’s systems.
To combat this, users can easily lock or switch off their YouTrip card instantly within the app as a precaution anytime. Using Apple/Google Pay also limits payment exposure.
The ability to track overseas payments in real-time via instant notifications is also hugely valuable for users to catch suspicious charges early.
So in summary – YouTrip appears to have implemented extremely thorough and appropriate infrastructure to protect user data and transactions against breaches, theft and abuse.
Of course, no platform can claim 100% bulletproof security. Individual users can also have their personal passwords or devices compromised through their own negligence or misfortune.
But from an institutional perspective, YouTrip fulfills essential fiduciary duties to care for and safeguard user interests at a fundamental level. Users concerned purely about financial security should have adequate peace of mind.
YouTrip Company Background & Funding: Too Good to Be True?
With stellar foreign currency rates unavailable elsewhere, sceptical Singaporeans may wonder how YouTrip actually turns a profit while seemingly over-delivering on value. Is their business model truly sustainable or an elaborate ploy to gain market share? Let’s analyse further:
YouTrip’s revenue model
According to CEO and co-founder Caecilia Chu, YouTrip earns revenue via the interchange fees paid by Mastercard to card issuers per transaction – as is standard across all payments providers facilitating credit card payments.
As YouTrip operates an e-wallet linked to prepaid debit cards, they qualify for a share of these fees. By focusing specifically on the travel spend category, YouTrip processes sufficient payment volume across 150 currencies to maintain healthy profit margins.
This revenue model aligns with the explanation of other fintech platforms providing cards with no foreign transaction fees. Ultimately, Mastercard interchange fees enable these companies to give users wholesale FX rates and stay sufficiently profitable.
Strong venture capital backing
As a promising fintech startup with regional ambitions, YouTrip also attracted significant investor enthusiasm to fund its expansion.
In total, YouTrip raised over US$100 million so far. Its latest US$30 million Series A round in 2021 was led by US investment firm Insight Partners, which also funded Twitter, Shopify and other global tech successes earlier in their journeys.
Such reputable institutional backing dispels notions that YouTrip does not have viable long term economics. Sophisticated venture capitalists conducted due diligence to validate YouTrip’s money making potential.
Final Verdict: Is YouTrip Scam or Legit?
Examining the incentives behind YouTrip’s compelling value proposition reveals an elegant fintech business model that makes simple sense – not an elaborate ruse to scam users.
YouTrip identified a huge pain point for travellers of excessive foreign transaction fees and targeted it precisely. By using technology to create efficiency and passing savings back to consumers, they fulfilled a major unmet need in the payments sphere.
And by all user accounts, YouTrip delivered exactly as promised. In fact, users seem more sceptical of how YouTrip manages to offer such exceptional overseas usage benefits versus doubting their legitimacy overall.
So while healthy consumer scepticism is warranted, we can definitively conclude YouTrip is 100% legitimate with user interests aligned and no signs of being a scam whatsoever based on its fundamentals.
FAQ – Common Concerns About YouTrip
Is YouTrip regulated in Singapore?
Yes, as a Major Payment Institution, YouTrip underwent stringent checks by MAS before receiving licensing. They must continually adhere to regulations around capital levels, auditing, data protection etc.
What fees does YouTrip charge?
YouTrip does not charge any fees for overseas payments, conversions between supported currencies, receiving funds or card usage. Users only pay if making ATM withdrawals overseas (S$5 fee) or requesting failed chargebacks (S$15 fee).
How does YouTrip make money?
Primarily through interchange fees from Mastercard. Also potentially via interest earned from custodian accounts holding user funds and currency conversion revenue.
Is the money in my YouTrip Wallet safe?
Yes, user funds are held in secure custodian bank accounts and protected by MAS guidelines. This preserves value and accessibility even in unlikely events of YouTrip going bust.
Can I withdraw money from YouTrip back to my bank?
Unfortunately no. You would have to spend down the balance through card payments or close the account to get remaining money refunded to your linked bank.
What happens if I lose my YouTrip card overseas?
You can instantly lock the card using the app to prevent unauthorized charges. YouTrip has no liability for losses once card lock activated. New replacement card can be requested after you return to Singapore and reapply.
Is YouTrip worth it even with the small flaws?
For most frequent travellers, the unparalled exchange rates and zero foreign transaction fees make YouTrip’s minor limitations worthwhile. Expect a few bugs or inflexibilities but huge savings overall.
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