# utu

> utu is a Singapore-based travel-technology and fintech company that helps international shoppers get more from their VAT and GST refunds. Instead of accepting the standard cash refund (often only 55-60% of the tax paid), travelers use utu to upsize their refund - taking up to 40% more value in airline miles or hotel points, or converting refunds into retail vouchers worth more than the tax paid. Founded by tax-free-shopping veterans Asad and Ameer Jumabhoy, utu links travelers, retailers, duty-free operators, VAT refund companies, airlines and hotels into a single rewards ecosystem across markets including Italy, Switzerland and the UAE.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** Singapore
- **Founders:** Asad Jumabhoy (Co-Founder & CEO), Ameer Jumabhoy (Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer)
- **Team size:** ~200 employees
- **Products:** utu Tax Free Card, Store Vouchers / Retail Voucher with AI, Direct-to-Customer VAT Refunds, Acquirer Integrated Rewards, CardsPal
- **Notable:** Raised a US$33 million Series B in June 2023 led by SC Ventures., Acquired SC Ventures-incubated fintech CardsPal in 2023, absorbing its mobile-first rewards technology and team., Signed 10 leading global airlines including Air France-KLM, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

## Products & services

- **utu Tax Free Card** — A virtual card that lets travelers direct their VAT/GST refund to utu and upsize it - taking up to 40% more value as airline miles or hotel points instead of a reduced cash refund.
- **Store Vouchers / Retail Voucher with AI** — Travelers photograph their tax-free form or receipt and AI converts it into a retail voucher - worth up to 120% of the tax paid - redeemable at duty-free and partner city retailers.
- **Direct-to-Customer VAT Refunds** — A consumer service refunding up to 85% of VAT, well above the 55-60% travelers typically receive through legacy operators.
- **Acquirer Integrated Rewards** — Early platform integrating rewards into payment acquiring, processing around 1M transactions across roughly 40,000 merchants.
- **CardsPal** — Mobile-first deals-and-promotions app (acquired from SC Ventures) delivering hyper-localised rewards to nearby users.

## Achievements

- Raised a US$33 million Series B in June 2023 led by SC Ventures.
- Acquired SC Ventures-incubated fintech CardsPal in 2023, absorbing its mobile-first rewards technology and team.
- Signed 10 leading global airlines including Air France-KLM, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.
- Built a refund model returning up to 85% of VAT and up to 120% value in store vouchers versus the industry's typical 55-60%.
- Introduced AI-based conversion of tax-free forms into retail vouchers in 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2024-01** — Launched a Retail Voucher product using AI to convert photos of tax-free forms into spendable vouchers.
- **2023-06** — Closed a US$33M Series B led by SC Ventures and acquired CardsPal to add mobile-first rewards capability.
- **2021-09** — Opened a waitlist for a product upsizing VAT refunds and launched the airmiles refund and payment card.

## Links

- Website: https://utu.global
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ututaxfree
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/utuglobal
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/utuTaxFree

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/utu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-24