Voyager secures $167 million for PayMaya expansion

MANILA, Philippines — Technology company Voyager Innovations Inc. has raised $167 million to fund financial technology arm PayMaya Philippines’ expansion, which will include its foray into digital banking.

The fresh funding, according to Voyager, is expected to help fast-track financial inclusion in the country through PayMaya and its soon-to-be-established digital bank.

The investment includes $121 million in fresh funding and $46 million from previously committed funds.

Participating in the funding were existing shareholders, namely telco giant PLDT Inc., global investment firm KKR and Chinese technology company Tencent.

Voyager also welcomed IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, a fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Co. (AMC), as a new investor.

IFC AMC is a division of the International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group, and an existing investor in Voyager.

“Voyager’s latest fundraising underscores its leadership and its ability to continue growing an inclusive, sustainable and diversified business that addresses the entire Philippines’ digital financial services market,” the company said.

Voyager said the new funds would be used to expand PayMaya services and continue enabling more unbanked and underserved individuals and MSMEs with new and inclusive products such as credit, insurance, savings and investments, through a soon-to-be-established digital bank.

After having successfully grown PayMaya’s mobile wallet, payments processing, and digital remittance businesses, Voyager said it is now leveraging its ecosystem to expand into digital banking for the next phase of its mission to improve financial inclusion in the Philippines.

The company has applied for a digital bank license with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to make this possible.

Once granted a digital bank license, Voyager said the new entity would provide “mobile-first, low-cost, round-the-clock, frictionless, branchless, ubiquitous, paperless, secure, and smart neo-banking services” on the back of PayMaya’s technology platforms.

“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,” Voyager and PayMaya CEO and founder Orlando Vea said.

In 2018, KKR, Tencent, IFC and IFC Emerging Asia Fund made initial investments totaling $215 million to Voyager to support the company and its strategy to provide greater access to digital financial services across the Philippines through PayMaya.

PLDT, KKR, Tencent, IFC and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund in April last year committed to infuse up to $120 million in new funding to support PayMaya’s rapid growth.

PayMaya ended 2020 with over 28 million registered customers and more than 116,000 merchant partners nationwide.

The fintech firm has made it easier for banked and unbanked FIlipinos to add money, cash out, make payments, and remit funds through more than 250,000 digital-finance access touchpoints, seven times the number of the ATMs and bank branches in the country.

It is also spurring digital commerce in the country through its PayMaya Mall, an in-app feature directly connecting over 350 enabled merchants to retail consumers.

PayMaya is set to introduce other innovative services catering to underserved segments this year.

“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,” Voyager and PayMaya president Shailesh Baidwan said.