Fintech startup NextPay seeks to join popular e-wallets in crypto race

Another local financial technology (fintech) firm is eyeing to join the cryptocurrency bandwagon given the heightened interest for digital assets sparked by the rise of play-to-earn online games, including the popular Axie Infinity, and nonfungible tokens.

Homegrown fintech startup NextPay told the Inquirer it was in the process of securing its virtual asset services provider (VASP) license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

VASP is an entity that facilitates the transfer or exchange of virtual assets, which are digital units that can be traded online or used for payment or investment purposes.

Offering cryptocurrency services will put NextPay in the same league with leading e-wallet service providers GCash and PayMaya, both of which have recently enabled customers to trade virtual assets through their platforms.

“NextPay is thoroughly studying the crypto needs of our users. We want to be able to pinpoint the exact pain points that cryptocurrency services would address for businesses,” NextPay co-founder and head of growth Artie Lopez told the Inquirer.

“We are currently exploring the development of crypto services that can complement our suite of digital financial tools that enable our customers to collect, send and manage their finances,” he added.

Open to collaboration

Lopez said the startup was also open to collaborating with other crypto firms that provide application programming interface and connectivity to accelerate its foray into the crypto space.

“We at NextPay believe that crypto will play a big part in the future of finance and we want to be one of the first movers in the market. By building our infrastructure early, we will be able to swiftly cater to their needs so that they can continue to grow and scale,” Lopez said.

Other financial services

Apart from crypto transactions, NextPay also aims to launch bills payment, lending and corporate card services.

The fintech startup processed transaction volumes worth over P1 billion in the past year, driven by invoice payments, employee salaries and vendor payments. Its customer base also grew by around 20 times in the same period.

Its customers include micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from several sectors such as consumer goods, technology, health care, investment management, automotive, e-commerce and agriculture. The company is planning to tap other segments, including freelancers, social sellers and professionals.

“As the digital business banking needs of our clients continue to evolve and as we continue to scale and reach more MSMEs, we at NextPay are committed to further innovate and develop more financial tools and services to bring the power of big banking into the hands of growing businesses,” Lopez said.

Launched in 2020, NextPay is backed by Y Combinator, Gentree Fund, Golden Gate Ventures, Kickstart, 1982 Ventures and Broadhaven. INQ