Higala, a pioneering inclusive instant payment system in the Philippines, secured an additional $2.8 million in seed funding to support the launch of its platform banking, empowering smaller banks to offer digital payment solutions and further enhance the country’s financial infrastructure.
The extension round saw participation from Talino Venture Studios and was led by 1982 Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm specializing in Southeast Asian fintech.
“Higala’s innovative approach to inclusive instant payments is directly aligned with our vision of using fintech to change lives,” said Scott Krivokopich, managing partner at 1982 Ventures.
“Winston Damarillo and Vice Catudio are an incredible team with a proven track record in building core payments infrastructure and we are proud to partner with Higala in launching a modern payments rail, which will make the Philippines’ five billion monthly transactions faster, cheaper, and available to all sectors of the economy,” he said.
Since its introduction last year, Higala has been expanding financial access to different parts of the country by connecting more rural banks, thrift banks, commercial banks and electronic money issuers to its network, as well as lowering the cost of real-time payments and reducing the on-ramp barrier.
“This funding milestone of Higala will greatly benefit its robust ecosystem, which now includes an instant payment system, a platform bank, and an extensive network of collaborators who are all committed to improving financial system resilience and accelerating the adoption of digital banking,” said Damarillo, chief executive of Higala.
Slated for launch in the second quarter of 2025, Higala’s platform banking will enable smaller banks and other financial institutions to offer digital payment services, which is a gateway to their access and participation to instant payment systems.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) recently worked with Higala to provide the core technology to SynerFi, an open payments platform that provides digital payments access to smaller financial institutions in the Philippines.