← State of Embedded Finance 2026

HipVan

Can a Singapore e-commerce furniture brand evolve into a multi-sided home & living marketplace (Communa) while running a fully embedded modern finance stack?

Founded2013
HQSingapore
FoundersDanny Tan, Shobhit Datta, Deborah Wee
Total raised$4.7M
IndustryE-commerce / Retail
The story

HipVan was founded in 2013 as a Singapore-based online furniture retailer focused on affordable, design-led home furnishings. The company has scaled to 230,000+ customers and operates an Atelier Showroom at Clarke Quay. It recently expanded beyond pure retail by launching Communa, a content-first marketplace connecting shoppers, creators, and third-party brands — moving the business toward a multi-sided commerce model.

Last 12 months
2025
Product timeline
2013
HipVan founded as online furniture retailer in Singapore· launch
2024
Launched Communa, a content-first marketplace connecting shoppers, creators, and third-party brands· pivot
The stack
Payments / PSP
2C2PGrab PayLaterAtomeUOB (credit card instalments)American Express (consumer card instalments)
Banking / BaaS
Airwallex
Card issuing
Aspire
Lending
Grab PayLater (4 payments)Atome (3 payments)UOB 12-month 0% instalmentsAmex 12-month 0% instalments
FX & payouts
Airwallex
Accounting gap: none