Philippines Payments Platform Closes $120M Investment Deal

Philippines payments startup Voyager Innovations has closed a funding deal worth up to $120 million from existing backers, according to a Monday (April 6) statement from Voyager.

Existing investors included Voyager’s parent company PLDT, China’s Tencent, International Finance Corp (IFC), private equity firm KKR and IFC Emerging Asia Fund. The new funding follows a $215 million investment in 2018. The money will be used to help Voyager’s expansion efforts in the Philippines.

Voyager Innovations runs the payments platform PayMaya Philippines. The new funding is part of a bigger fundraising effort for Voyager. The FinTech firm is taking meetings with new strategic and financial partners.

“This fresh round of investment is a testament to Voyager’s success in providing Filipinos with access to convenient, relevant and inclusive digital financial services through PayMaya,” the five investors said in a joint statement. “This is also a recognition of the significant role that the Philippines financial technology industry can play in providing meaningful digital solutions to many of the crucial and very human challenges that the Philippines community faces today.”

Voyager Innovations, which was founded in 2013, provides mobile money and payments under the PayMaya brand, as well as mobile-based remittances under its Smart Padala brand.

“In line with the country’s goals, we have made significant strides in spurring cashless adoption in a largely unbanked population. This funding boosts PayMaya’s ability to reach more Filipinos, especially as access to digital financial services becomes even more important,” said Orlando B. Vea, founder and chief executive officer of Voyager Innovations.

“This investment will enable us to better support our financial inclusion thrust, while allowing us to expand to adjacent services,” added Voyager Innovations and PayMaya Philippines President Shailesh Baidwan.

Cashless transactions are on the rise in the Philippines, as more Filipino consumers embrace digital payments. Germany-based FinTech services firm Wirecard partnered last month with the Union Bank of the Philippines to improve banking services for corporate customers.