utu is a travel technology company with a mission to transform the global travel experience for tourists by introducing them to a world of rewards and higher VAT and GST tax refunds, so they can get the best value out of their trips.
Far more than just digitizing the process, utu re-engineers the broken tax refund industry to finally put the customer first. By integrating tax refunds with the rest of the travel ecosystem, utu bridges the worlds of refunds and rewards, and unlocks new value in the form of points from retailers, airlines, hotels, restaurants and many more.
utu allows global shoppers to upsize the refunds from any refund operator across 50 countries taking part in the tax-free shopping scheme, including France, Italy, Germany, Singapore, South Korea and the UAE. Shoppers simply download the utu Tax Free app and fill in their details to receive a utu Tax Free Card. By directing their refund to their card, sums can currently be upsized by 5% in cash or 25% in Frequent Flyer Miles. Emirates Skywards members are already able to take advantage of utu upsize rewards, whilst 12 additional major airlines are set to be onboarded by the end of 2021. Over time, the reward ecosystem will expand considerably.
Founded in 2016, utu is a technology company with a unique travel industry heritage, steeped in tax-free shopping domain knowledge. The company’s leadership was pivotal in growing and selling the two leading refund operators to their current owners when that business model was still relevant.
utu is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in France, Italy, Thailand, South Korea and India.
For more information, visit https://www.utu.global.
Far more than just digitizing the process, utu re-engineers the broken tax refund industry to finally put the customer first. By integrating tax refunds with the rest of the travel ecosystem, utu bridges the worlds of refunds and rewards, and unlocks new value in the form of points from retailers, airlines, hotels, restaurants and many more.
utu allows global shoppers to upsize the refunds from any refund operator across 50 countries taking part in the tax-free shopping scheme, including France, Italy, Germany, Singapore, South Korea and the UAE. Shoppers simply download the utu Tax Free app and fill in their details to receive a utu Tax Free Card. By directing their refund to their card, sums can currently be upsized by 5% in cash or 25% in Frequent Flyer Miles. Emirates Skywards members are already able to take advantage of utu upsize rewards, whilst 12 additional major airlines are set to be onboarded by the end of 2021. Over time, the reward ecosystem will expand considerably.
Founded in 2016, utu is a technology company with a unique travel industry heritage, steeped in tax-free shopping domain knowledge. The company’s leadership was pivotal in growing and selling the two leading refund operators to their current owners when that business model was still relevant.
utu is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in France, Italy, Thailand, South Korea and India.
For more information, visit https://www.utu.global.
Location: Italy, Lombardy, Milan
Employees: 501-1000
Total raised: $33M
Founded date: 2016
Funding Rounds 1
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| 29.06.2023 | Series B | $33M | SC Venture... |
Mentions in press and media 17
| Date | Title | Description |
| 15.06.2026 | utu Launches Tourist Privilege Programme at TimeVallée by Gübelin, Lucerne | SINGAPORE, June 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- utu, a travel retail platform that converts tourist tax-free refunds into upsized in-store privileges, today announced the launch of its Tourist Privilege programme at TimeVallée by Gübelin’s L... |
| 29.04.2026 | utu and Weixin Pay announce partnership with launch at Milan airports | The Milan launch marks the beginning of a growing partnership between utu and Weixin Pay. SINGAPORE, April 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- utu, the travel fintech company, has announced a partnership with Weixin Pay, known to global users as... |
| 07.12.2023 | Rewards Beyond Borders: utu and Enrich, the Loyalty programme of Malaysia Airlines enable Enrich Members to earn Enrich points through VAT Refunds | Partnership boosts tax refunds by up to 40% for Malaysia Airlines' frequent flyers KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Enrich, the Travel and Lifestyle Loyalty programme of Malaysia Airlines has entered a partnership with u... |
| 30.08.2023 | utu and TAP Miles&Go Partner to Bring 'Upsized' Tax Refund Benefits to Air Portugal Frequent Flyers | SINGAPORE, Aug. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- utu, a Singapore-based travel-tech company, today announced that it is adding TAP Miles&Go, the frequent flyer program of TAP Air Portugal, to its list of global partners. The deal aims to now br... |
| 29.06.2023 | utu Closes US$33 Million Deal, Acquires SC Ventures-Incubated CardsPal to Re-engineer Tax-Free Shopping Globally | SINGAPORE, June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Singapore-based travel-tech company utu today announced its acquisition of CardsPal — a Singapore-based platform — along with closing a deal of US$33 million in combined transaction value. The de... |
| 27.06.2023 | Singapore-based Utu raises USD 33 million in Series B | Singapore-based travel tech company helping flyers get more out of their tax-free shopping, Utu raised USD 33 million in Series B funding. The round took place on June 26, 2023. SC Ventures led the financing for the company. |
| 25.06.2023 | UTU raises $33M to help travelers get more from tax-free shopping | Utu, a travel tech company that helps flyers get more out of their tax-free shopping, announced today it has raised a $33 million Series B from investors including SC Ventures. Utu also announced it has acquired CardsPal, a Singapore-based ... |
| 24.06.2023 | SG travel firm raises funds from SC Ventures, buys CardsPal | AcquisitionsInvestmentsNews Deepti Sri · 26 Jun 2023 · 1 min readSG travel firm raises funds from SC Ventures, buys CardsPal (From left) Utu’s Asad Jumabhoy, Ameer Jumabhoy, and Sanjay Chinchwade / Photo credit: Utu Singapore-based travel f... |
| 21.09.2022 | utu and Etihad Guest Partner to Bring Extra Rewards to Etihad Guest Members | The utu and Etihad Guest partnership will allow travellers who intend on discovering the world to get more out of their travel with upsized benefits and tax rebates. SINGAPORE, Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore-based travel-tech comp... |
| 01.08.2022 | utu Invites Users to Discover Flying Blue with New Partnership | utu and Air France-KLM partnership gives more choice to travellers to earn rewards as they shop tax-free at over 300 destinations. SINGAPORE, Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- utu (utu Pte Ltd), https://utu.global/, a Singapore-based travel-tech... |
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