BayaniPay raises $3M for global payment service

MANILA, Philippines — Homegrown financial technology player BayaniPay raked in $3 million from a funding round intended to support the deployment of new global payment solutions that cater to enterprises.

On Thursday, BayaniPay CEO Winston Damarillo announced that their recent fund-raising activity was led by Wavemaker Partners, a Southeast Asian venture capital group.

This brings the company’s total capitalization to $9.6 million.

“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,” Damarillo said.

With Bayani GlobalPay—which is set to be launched within this month—Filipino customers living abroad will be able to pay their billers in the Philippines directly.

This payment solution will be initially introduced with partners SM Development Corp., DM Consunji Inc. and Landco Pacific Corp.. Damarillo explained that several customers include overseas Filipino workers investing in real estate back home.

But BayaniPay chief commercial officer Dindo Marzan said “any local enterprise that provides products or services to Filipinos, such as property builders, insurance companies, hospitals, retailers and schools” can use the payment portal.

READ: US-based Filipinos can now easily pay amortizations in PH

The payment solution can accept different payment methods, including debit and credit cards and e-wallets.

Cross-border direct payments

As the startup realizes its expansion plans, the company aims to process total payments amounting to $200 million this year, showing 10 times growth from 2023.

“Cross-border direct payments is a natural progression of remittance that continues to sustain and uplift the Philippine economy,” Wavemaker Partners founder and managing partner Eric Manlunas said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that personal remittances from overseas Filipinos rose by 2.8 percent to $9.15 billion in the first quarter from $8.9 billion the previous year.

BayaniPay—which currently has 25,000 customers—is a digital remittance platform targeting overseas Filipino workers and migrants in the United States.

It has established a footprint in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Alaska. Other target destinations are Illinois, Nevada, New York, and Washington.

Eventually, the company also aims to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian region. —TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD