The funding round saw participation from KKR, PLDT, Tencent, and IFC AMC
Voyager Innovations secures $167m in new funding for PayMaya and new digital bank. (Credit: mohamed Hassan from Pixabay)
Voyager Innovations, a Philippines-based technology company which owns the PayMaya payment and financial services app, has raised $167m in a new funding round.
Through its financial technology unit – PayMaya Philippines, Voyager Innovations aims to expedite financial inclusion in the Philippines.
The investment is made up of $121m in fresh funding and $46m from previously committed funds.
Voyager Innovations said that the funding round saw the participation of existing shareholders – telecom company PLDT, KKR, and Tencent.
IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, a fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company (IFC AMC), joined as a new investor in the company.
According to Voyager Innovations, the fundraising follows the growth of PayMaya’s mobile wallet, digital remittance, and payments processing businesses.
The company said that it is now utilising the ecosystem it has created to expand into digital banking. In this connection, the company is pursuing a digital bank license from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Voyager Innovations intends to use the new capital to grow its PayMaya services and to continue to serve more unbanked and underserved individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with new and inclusive products.
Voyager Innovations and PayMaya CEO-founder Orlando Vea said: “We have seen a quantum leap for digital payments adoption in the Philippines over the past year, and PayMaya has served as the nexus connecting consumers and enterprises with enriching digital finance experiences.
“This investment supports the unique value we bring and gives us a natural head start with the target market for the digital banking service.”
Through its planned digital bank, the company proposes to offer credit, insurance, savings, and investments.
Voyager Innovations said that should it get a digital bank license, a new entity created by it will offer mobile-first, round-the-clock, branchless, paperless, secure, and smart neo-banking services to customers on the back of the technology platforms of PayMaya.
Voyager Innovations and PayMaya president Shailesh Baidwan said: “As we did with payments and remittances, we will enable the large masses of Filipinos to leapfrog into a new stage of financial inclusion through integrated digital financial services.
“Our goal is to continue making lives better for millions of underserved people and small businesses, with cutting edge solutions that are affordable and relevant.”