- Voyager plans to enhance the services offered by PayMaya, including cryptocurrency solutions
- The company will use the recent funding to boost its efforts to employ the digital economy in serving the unbanked and underserved.
Voyager Innovations, the parent company of the leading digital payments application in the Philippines, PayMaya, has announced that it recently completed a $210 million funding round at a $1.4 billion valuation. Pushing it into unicorn status, the funding round was led by Asia’s SIG Venture Capital. Other investors who participated in the funding round were Tencent, First Pacific, and PLDT – Philippine’s largest telecommunication service provider.
“The strong endorsement from our new shareholders and participation of our existing investors in this fundraising validates the company’s ability to expand into neobanking and add new cutting-edge financial products and services. We are excited to bring more game-changing innovations to millions of consumers and MSMEs with our integrated ecosystem as we address the pent-up demand for financial services,” said PayMaya and Voyager President Shailesh Baidwan as per the published statement.
Funds will go into PayMaya
PayMaya has recently added a basket of crypto services to its mobile application. The update meant the payment platform would offer a comprehensive package to users seeking to enter the crypto market.
The crypto feature allows clients exposure to cryptocurrencies without undergoing the rigour of KYC requirements or creating a crypto wallet. Users can trade, purchase, and sell digital assets via the PayMaya e-wallet. Part of the money raised in this round will go towards developing the crypto solutions further.
A portion of the funds would also be used to enhance Maya Bank solutions by introducing new services, including savings and credits. These would be available to consumers and businesses sizes ranging from micro, small to medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
As of December 31 2021, PayMaya was listed among holders of the Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) license given by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This allows the platform to offer Filipinos regulated digital assets. According to CEO and founder Orlando Vea, the most recent funding round will help boost his firm’s efforts in serving the unbanked in the country using digital platforms.
“Our strong record of execution and innovation is a testament to our world-class team’s hard work and talent. With this milestone, we are excited to leap forward and bring the best of PayMaya and Maya Bank to help unlock the digital economy for the underserved and unbanked Filipinos.”