A financial comparison service that aims to make it far easier for consumers to check rates and prices from providers has received a funding boost as it targets a potential $52 billion market.

CompareAsiaGroup, the Hong Kong-based comparison service, says it intends to transform the personal finance market with more easy-to-find data for consumers by securing an additional $40 million in funding. The platform has set its sights on an estimated $52 billion market, which is the marketing and customer acquisition spending of financial product providers in Asia target markets.

The funding increase has been led by the Goldman Sachs Investment Partners team and other institutions such as Jardine Pacific, Nova Founders Capital, ACE & Company, and Route 66 Ventures, the service said in a statement yesterday.

This new financing round also includes globally-renowned angel investors such as Mark Pincus (founder of Zynga), Owen Van Natta (ex-chief operating officer of Facebook, ex-chief executive of MySpace) and others, it said.

The service is free at the point of use and an example of how Internet-based platforms have shone a light on the kind of prices and services that exist in ways that could not be so easily compared before. Paradoxically, at the wealth management end of the spectrum, such comparison services are relatively rare.

The platform says it is the largest such service in Asia, serving eight markets and covering more than half a billion people.

“This tremendous support and signal of confidence reinforces the belief in our mission to deliver transparency and choice to consumers while also giving partners an innovative new channel to reach the consumer,” Gerald Eder, co-founder and managing director, CompareAsiaGroup, said.

The platform consists of financial comparison experts including former MoneySupermarket managing director Stuart Glendinning, former Comparis head of marketing David Hatcher, and former uSwitch and Kelkoo programme director Anthony Heath.

CompareAsiaGroup works with more than 60 brands such as American Express, HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered, and MSIG. Its sites operate in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.