Fintech startup BayaniPay raises $4.5 million from investors
Financial technology startup BayaniPay said Thursday it has raised $4.5 million in seed funding from venture capital investors East West Bank, Wavemaker Partners and Talino Venture Labs.
In a statement, BayaniPay said the fresh capital from East West Bank and Wavemaker Partners will allow it to expand its technology team as the company scales its product lineup and expands into more geographies.
BayaniPay said early this year it contracted East West Bank, the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California, to offer Filipino American customers banking services, including a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured checking account.
It said East West Bank is joining BDO Unibank, the Philippines’ largest bank; Asian Journal, one of the leaders in the Asian American media industry; and Seafood City, the largest Filipino-owned supermarket chain in the United States, in BayaniPay’s list of partners.
The partnership, BayaniPay said, positions it as the first cross-border, digital financial service for the Filipino American community, which is 4.2 million strong and accounts for $146 billion or 14.4% of the Asian American market in the United States – a segment that has previously underserved by traditional banks and other financial institutions.
BayaniPay offers simple, convenient and affordable cross-border financial services from the US to the Philippines.
Their customers enjoy a number of benefits from the feature-rich platform, including access to a digital checking account, a debit card that maximizes spending power, and zero transfer fees and market-leading exchange rates for Filipino Americans sending money home.
In partnership with BDO Unibank, BayaniPay said it will soon deliver more financial solutions to Filipinos in the United States.
The fintech startup said it is partnering with BDO Unibank to enable its users in the US to pay for services directly in the Philippines through payment code technologies.
Local businesses and services can simply provide Filipino American customers with payment codes that they can use for easy and convenient cross-border payment of bills, tuition and fees, medical expenses and even property, it said.
BayaniPay said it has gained over 7,000 users a year since its launch.
“We are excited about how quickly BayaniPay has grown since we first launched,” said BayaniPay CEO Winston Damarillo.
“Our ongoing efforts are driven by the desire to eliminate the economic hardships of new immigrant and minority communities,” Damarilo said. —LBG, GMA Integrated News
