BayaniPay, a global payment process automation company, said Thursday it secured an additional $3 million in funding to fuel its global expansion plan.
The new capital infusion is on top of the $6.6 million in seed funding it previously secured from lead investors Wavemaker Partners, PTGB and Talino Venture Studios.
It said it would use the fresh funding to fuel the expansion of their global payments capabilities, putting them on course for a tenfold increase in growth this year.
“We are grateful for the continued trust of our investors. This expansion marks a major milestone in our commitment to provide convenient, secure, and low-cost global payment services to Philippine institutions, so that they can broaden their international reach and give their customers better ways to pay them,” BayaniPay chief executive Winston Damarillo said.
BayaniPay said that with the fresh funds, BayaniPay would start expanding its services across the globe, allowing it to achieve its goal of capping 2024 with $200 million in payments processed.
Eric Manlunas, founder and managing partner of Wavemaker Partners, said cross-border direct payments is a natural progression of remittance that continues to sustain and uplift the Philippine economy.
“We welcome the ability of financial technology to mature and provide the capability for individuals to pay institutions more directly,” adding, “We are excited to support the financing of BayaniPay to fuel its growth on a massive scale and to have more use cases that advance the future of payments for the benefit of all,” he said.
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies said personal remittances totaled $37.2 billion and accounted for 8.5 percent of the Philippine gross domestic product in 2023.
BayaniPay aims to augment the economic impact of cross-border direct payments by making it frictionless and cost-effective, which helps Filipinos overseas save on fees and add more pesos to every dollar they send.
“We also empower them to directly invest in real estate, education, and to help provide health safety nets by buying insurance for their loved ones back home,” said Damarillo.
BayaniPay will launch this month Bayani GlobalPay, an embedded banking service designed to enable businesses and major billing entities to efficiently reach their customers on a global scale.
Bayani GlobalPay features two embedded banking solutions: GlobalPay, a white-label service that provides non-financial institutions with a custom payment platform, and GlobalPay Express, an all-in-one payment portal for payment management. Institutions may choose between these two solutions based on their needs and requirements.
“Any local enterprise that provides products or services to Filipinos, such as property builders, insurance companies, hospitals, retailers, and schools can do business globally because they have a platform to get paid at the lowest possible cost. But more importantly, their customers enjoy the benefits of choosing the most cost-effective and convenient way to pay for such products or services,” said BayaniPay chief commercial officer Dindo Marzan.
“BayaniPay’s existing partners – some of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines, namely: SMDC, DMCI, and Landco – will be among the first collaborators in Bayani GlobalPay,” Marzan said.
