Philippines-based tech giant Voyager Innovations recently announced that it has raised USD 167 million to expand its financial services in Philippines through its affiliate PayMaya Philippines.
The funding round saw a participation of existing shareholders KKR, a global investment firm; PLDT Inc., the Philippines’ biggest integrated telecommunications company and major digital services provider; and Tencent, a prominent technology company in China. A new investor, IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, a fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company, also participated in the funding.
The fundraising is a major achievement for Voyager after the success of PayMaya’s mobile wallet and digital payment businesses. Voyager is now using this exclusive ecosystem for expanding its digital banking to improve financial inclusion in the Philippines. On this note, it has also applied for a digital bank license with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”), the country’s central bank.
Voyager will utilize the new funds for expansion of its PayMaya services and facilitate unbanked & underserved people and MSMEs with new products like insurance, credit, investments and savings via an upcoming digital bank, cited sources close to the matter.
After it receives a digital bank license by the BSP, it will offer mobile-first, 24/7, low-cost, secure, branchless, and smart neo-banking services as a part of PayMaya’s verified technology platforms.
It is worth noting that PayMaya has done its best in promoting adoption of digital payments across, enterprises, consumers and government. Total registered users for these platforms has increased twofold to 38 million or over half of the adult population in Philippines in just 18 months as of June 2021.
Leveraging the prowess of its enterprise and consumer businesses, PayMaya’s digital commerce in Philippines is flourishing through its in-app feature PayMaya Mall that connects over 350 enabled merchants to retail consumers.
The platform has also enabled Filipinos, both banked and unbanked, to make transactions through over 250000 digital-finance access stations across the country.
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