BayaniPay, a Los Angeles-based financial technology company, raised $4.5 million in seed funding from investors as it teamed up with BDO Unibank Inc. to deliver financial solutions to Filipinos in the US.
The fresh capital from East West Bank, the largest independent bank based in Southern California, Wavemaker Partners and Talino Ventures Labs, will allow BayaniPay to expand the technology team as the company scales its product lineup and expands into more geographies.
“We are excited about how quickly BayaniPay has grown since we first launched,” BayaniPay chief executive Winston Damarillo said.
“Our ongoing efforts are driven by the desire to eliminate the financial hardships of new immigrants and minority communities,” he said.
BayaniPay has gained more than 7,000 users, and its work is disrupting the global banking landscape since announcing its expansion. BayaniPay plans to expand to more US states from the current roster of California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Alaska. “We expect exponential growth in 2023. Our goal is 150,000 customers by year three [of our operations], and we think it’s easily achievable,” Damarillo said. Darwin G. Amojelar