New | O2O money changer app Get4x aims to ease Hongkongers' currency exchange woes

Singapore-based start-up 4xLabs wants to help Hongkongers get a better exchange rate when changing money to foreign currencies with its online-to-offline app Get4x.

The app, which rolled out in Hong Kong in April, allows users to key in the amount of foreign currency they require. They can then see the different rates charged by various money changers in Hong Kong on a map, complete with location and contact numbers.

4xLabs CEO Julien Labruyere, who hails from France, founded Get4x in Singapore where he is based when he realised that there was no platform that allows users to compare prices for currency exchange.

“During Christmas season in 2011, I wanted to change several thousand euros but did not know which was the best place to change my money. I did not want to get ripped off,” said Labruyere.

“The [money changing industry] struck me as a very neglected market in terms of digitalisation.”

The app now gets about 12,000 unique users each month and has over 30,000 downloads, according to the company. Following the success in Singapore, the app now includes cities like Hong Kong, Mumbai and Bangkok.

“We have over 130 Hong Kong money changers on the platform now,” said Labruyere, adding this amounts to over 10 per cent of the money changers in the city. “We want to capture half of the market within the next six months.”