Voyager Innovations Inc., the digital technology arm of PLDT Inc. behind the PayMaya mobile wallet, said Monday it raised $167 million from investors to form a digital bank and help accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines.
Participating in the funding were shareholders PLDT, global investment firm KKR and Chinese technology company Tencent.
IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, a fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company, also participated in the funding of Voyager. IFC AMC is a division of International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank Group and an investor in Voyager.
The investment includes $121 million in fresh funding and $46 million from previously committed funds.
Voyager said the fundraising marks another milestone for the company after having successfully grown PayMaya’s mobile wallet, payments processing and digital remittance businesses.
Voyager said it is now leveraging the unique ecosystem to expand into digital banking for the next phase of its mission to improve financial inclusion in the Philippines. The company said it applied for a digital bank license with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Voyager said it would use the new funds 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.
Once granted a digital bank license by the BSP, the new entity will provide mobile-first, low-cost, round-the-clock, frictionless, branchless, ubiquitous, paperless, secure and smart neo-banking services on the back of PayMaya’s proven 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 founder and chief executive Orland Vea said.
“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,” said Voyager and PayMaya president Shailesh Baidwan.
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.
PayMaya said it continually led the charge in fostering deeper adoption of digital payments across consumers, enterprises and government, hitting crucial milestones despite COVID-19 quarantine measures starting March 2020.
These milestones include the strong consumer adoption of the PayMaya mobile wallet and Smart Padala by PayMaya remittance services. Total registered users for platforms doubled in just 18 months as of June 2021 to 38 million, or more than half of the adult population in the Philippines.