Who’s Paying for Your ‘Free’ Touch ’n Go Credit? The Business Behind RinggitPlus
Ever wondered why the credit card sales people in malls are so aggressive? Or who’s actually paying for that “free” Touch ’n Go credit or iPad when you sign up?
The answer: banks are willing to spend big to acquire customers. And the companies that market credit cards on their behalf get paid quite well for it.
The Lead Generation Business
Sites like RinggitPlus, CompareHero, and SingSaver aren’t just helpful comparison tools. They’re lead generation machines. Every time you click “Apply Now” on a credit card listing, the site earns money. If your application gets approved, they earn more.
The business model is simple: banks pay a fee for every qualified lead or approved application. The “free” gifts — the Touch ’n Go credit, the Samsonite luggage, the cashback — are funded by the bank’s customer acquisition budget. The comparison site takes its cut for delivering you to the bank’s doorstep.
It’s the same economics behind those aggressive mall booths, just moved online.
MoneyHero: The Nasdaq-Listed Company Behind It
Most Malaysians know RinggitPlus. Fewer know the company behind it traces back to MoneyHero Group, a Nasdaq-listed company (MNY) that operates financial comparison platforms across Southeast Asia.
The corporate structure has shifted over the years. MoneyHero used to run CompareHero in Malaysia directly. In mid-2024, they sold the CompareHero brand and operations to Jirnexu — the parent company of RinggitPlus — while retaining an equity stake in Jirnexu. MoneyHero still runs SingSaver in Singapore, Money101 in Taiwan, and MoneyHero in Hong Kong, and Moneymax in the Philippines.
The numbers from their public filings tell the story of just how big this business is.
The Numbers
| Metric | MoneyHero Group (FY2024) |
|---|---|
| Annual Revenue | US$79.5 million (~RM355M) |
| Credit Cards (% of revenue) | ~61% |
| Approved Applications | 767,000 |
| Members | 7.5 million |
| Net Profit | Still loss-making (narrowing) |
| Stock Price (MNY) | Listed on Nasdaq |
That’s US$48 million in revenue just from credit cards, with 767,000 approved applications across all product verticals. Every click, every application, every approval earns them money from the bank.
Still Not Profitable — But Getting Close
Despite the impressive revenue, MoneyHero has been loss-making since listing. In FY2024, the full-year net loss narrowed 78% to US$37.8 million from US$172.6 million the year before. By Q2 2025, they posted their first-ever quarterly net income of US$0.2 million.
The path to profitability is straightforward: cut costs while growing revenue. By Q3 2025, revenue hit US$21.1 million (up 17% quarter-over-quarter), operating expenses fell 13% year-over-year, and EBITDA losses narrowed 68%.
Management expects Q4 2025 to be their first quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA, with 2026 targeted as the year they turn the corner.
The Interesting Shift: Beyond Credit Cards
Here’s where it gets strategic. MoneyHero is actively trying to move beyond just credit cards — into higher-margin, more recurring segments like wealth products and insurance.
Why? Credit card commissions are one-off. You sign up, they get paid, done. But insurance and wealth products generate recurring revenue — annual renewals, ongoing management fees, trail commissions.
| Revenue Segment | FY2024 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Credit Cards | ~61% of revenue | Stable |
| Insurance | US$8.2M (+40% YoY) | Growing |
| Wealth | US$8.5M (+138% YoY) | Growing fast |
Insurance and wealth made up 21% of group revenue in FY2024, rising to 23% by Q3 2025. It’s still early, but the direction is clear: use credit cards as the acquisition hook, then cross-sell higher-value products.
What This Means for Malaysian Consumers
None of this is inherently bad. Comparison sites genuinely help consumers find better deals, and the competition between banks for your application can work in your favour — that’s where the “free” gifts come from.
But it’s worth understanding the incentives:
- The cards shown most prominently may be the ones that pay the highest commission, not necessarily the best fit for you.
- “Free” sign-up bonuses are a customer acquisition cost — the bank has already calculated that you’ll spend enough on the card to justify it.
- Expect more insurance and wealth product recommendations going forward — that’s where the margin is.
Makes you look at those mall booths a little differently, doesn’t it?
How We Found This
MoneyHero’s financials are public — they’re listed on Nasdaq (MNY) and file quarterly reports with the SEC. The relationship between MoneyHero, Jirnexu, and RinggitPlus became clearer after the 2024 CompareHero acquisition. These are the kinds of upstream business models that affect every Malaysian who’s ever applied for a credit card online.
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Originally posted on Threads