16 November, 2023

Caroline Tran On How Hello Clever Is Advocating For Consumers During The Cost Of Living Crisis

Caroline Tran is the co-founder and CEO of Hello Clever. Tran’s reputation as an advocate for female voices in the tech industry earned her a Women Leading Tech Award last year.

WLT sat down with her to discuss the work that Hello Clever is doing to help consumers during a cost-of-living crisis and what it means to be a female in the tech industry.

WLT: Can you tell us what Hello Clever does?

Tran: Hello Clever is an Australian fintech company that empowers businesses with a real-time payment platform and built-in instant cashback rewards. We give businesses the tools they need to thrive in the fast-paced real-time payment economy, including advanced fraud protection and customer retention strategies. With Hello Clever, businesses can grow and succeed while driving customer loyalty and retention through our innovative cashback rewards program.

Amid a cost of living crisis, can you tell us how Hello Clever is helping consumers?

Using Hello Clever’s technology in real-time payments, it will benefit both merchants and their consumers as this allows merchants have better control over their working capital. Having to access their funds promptly allows merchants to meet their immediate financial obligations without delays. Instant cashback incentives on every purchase can make these items more affordable. This is especially valuable during a cost-of-living crisis when consumers seek ways to save money, and merchants want to reach highly repeat and loyal customers.

What kind of growth have you seen across the business over the last year, and how do you expect it to change in the new year?

Hello Clever has grown our revenue to 60x YoY and 100 per cent on user growth to reach 90k+ Australians. We’ve also won Emerging Fintech of The Year at The Finnies 2023, the most prestigious Fintech award. Our team has also grown to 30 employees globally, with offices across Sydney, Singapore, Vietnam and Finland.

Can you tell us what inspired you to start Hello Clever and why you needed to help young people struggling with their finances?

I started Hello Clever with one vision to empower everyone to be ‘clever’ with their money, which hasn’t changed. Coming from personal experience and having my background working in finance in several large corporations has put a passion in me to create solutions and empower young individuals to navigate financial challenges and build a secure financial future.

As a female in the tech world, what is the biggest challenge you face in your day-to-day role at Hello Clever?

As a female CEO, in the tech world, one of the most challenging things that we face is accessing capital compared to our male peers, which may present unequal opportunities that female leaders face.

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