BayaniPay, a global payments solution platform, said Wednesday it expanded its seed round funding to $6.6 million from existing investors.
Investors Talino Ventures and PTGB led the additional funding round of $2.1 million, bringing the total to $6.6 million to date.
BayaniPay previously raised $4.5 million, allowing it to scale its product features and explore new territories.
“We decided to expand our seed round to support our faster-than anticipated growth,” said BayaniPay chief executive Winston Damarillo in a briefing.
“We are grateful to our existing investors for providing BayaniPay additional funding, which will help us to further expand our services and reach more customers overseas Filipinos in other parts of the world,” he said.
BayaniPay grew its average transaction value to over P100 million per month in the first half from P30.64 million a year ago.
“For the full year of 2023, BayaniPay targets to reach P1 billion in total transaction value,” Damarillo said.
“We are on track to meet this milestone, as we continue to acquire more customers each month,” he added.
Damarillo said the demand for BayaniPay continued to grow as more Filipinos now see the value and benefit of convenience, while allowing them to enjoy zero fees and competitive foreign exchange rates.
BayaniPay, in partnership with BDO Remit USA, earlier launched its Buena Mano Rate program of $1 = P60 forex rate for first-time remitters, which exponentially increased BayaniPay’s customer acquisition.
The Buena Mano Rate program is applicable up to $500 of every first remittance or first remittance in six months.
BayaniPay will introduce in the fourth quarter its loyalty program for active users, which would grant them preferential high forex rates as incentives.
BayaniPay recorded a 36-percent growth in new users in the first six months of 2023. It is also strengthening its partnerships with other institutions to expand its portfolio of services.
The company has a user base of 18,000. With the additional funding, BayaniPay intends to bankroll new projects such as the development of a rewards system and planned expansion in North America, where a huge population of Filipinos reside.
“We aim to sustain this momentum and explore new territories. Our commitment towards improving and growing our platform is driven by the desire to make the lives of Filipinos easier, wherever they may be found,” Damarillo said.
BayaniPay caters to customers in California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Alaska by allowing them to remit funds to their loved ones and make direct payments to service providers in the Philippines.
Its platform is powered with features that allow customers to enjoy such as access to a digital checking account, a debit card that maximizes their spending power, zero fee remittance fees and market-leading forex rates.
“Not only has BayaniPay created intuitive solutions to make Filipinos’ payment journey a simple and cost-effective exercise, but we have also significantly contributed to solving the problems of existing remittance and bills payment methods for overseas Filipinos. Aside from benefiting our own customers, we also want to contribute to the overall economic growth of the Philippines by encouraging reinvestments in the Philippines,” Damarillo said.