40 rural banks join Higala payments infrastructure

Winston Damarillo —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Instant payments infrastructure provider Higala is set to launch in July an electronic platform that will initially serve at least 40 rural banks, broadening payment options for the public.

Higala CEO Winston Damarillo says that the company will extend its services beyond rural banks to include other financial institutions.

“We’re probably going to be announcing soon at least two [universal] banks and at least one, maybe all, of the wallet players,” Damarillo says.

READ: Digital payments: How the Philippine economy gains from it

At launch, Higala’s network will serve rural banks that include Rizal Microbank, Guagua Rural Bank, SNR Rural Bank, Lagawe Highlands Rural Bank, Rural Bank of Cadiz, Rural Bank of Cabatuan, Rural Bank of Ilog, Marayo Bank, Rural Bank of Roxas, Pangasinan Bank, Money Mall Rural Bank and Rural Bank of Kapalong.

Also part of the initial roster are Rural Bank of Solano, Rural Bank of Lebak, First Philippine Partners Bank, Rural Bank of Matag-ob and Rural Bank of Silay, among others.

Higala’s platform banking model aims to enable smaller banks and other financial institutions to offer digital payment services, providing their clients with greater access to instant payment systems.

‘Promising market’

Damarillo sees the Philippines as a promising market, given its vast transaction volume.

“It’s about 60 billion transactions per year, $2.7 trillion of money exchange hands every year,” he says.

Amid this optimistic outlook, the company has raised $2.8 million in seed funding, bringing in fresh investments from Talino Venture Studios, a global venture studio for sustainable innovation, and 1982 Ventures, a Singapore-licensed venture capital firm focused on investing in fintech startups in Southeast Asia.

Recently, Higala partnered with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. to provide the core technology for SynerFi, an open payments platform that grants smaller financial institutions access to digital payments.

“This is the realization of [the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’] open finance road map, initially focusing on open payments use cases, making digital transactions more seamless and frictionless,” RCBC executive vice president, chief innovation and inclusion officer Lito Villanueva says. INQ