Filipino FinTech startup NextPay has breached the PHP1B mark in terms of total transaction volume in 2021 — a growth momentum that the digital financial solutions platform expects to continue this year.
Backed by a customer base that has grown by around 20x from the last twelve (12) months, invoice payments, employee salaries, and vendor payments were the main drivers for this milestone. NextPay’s customers include small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and growing businesses in a wide spectrum of industries: consumer goods, technology, healthcare, investment management, automotive, eCommerce, and agriculture, among others.
Launched in 2020, during the onset of the pandemic, NextPay empowers growing companies, entrepreneurs, and freelancers with a spectrum of digital financial services that were previously unavailable to them because of the steep requirements and high fees that are typically aimed at larger, more developed companies that can afford them.
“The year 2021 was a banner year for NextPay. From being part of the prestigious Y Combinator Program and successfully closing an oversubscribed seed funding round, we were able to successfully grow our base and reach the P1-billion mark in total transaction volume. We expect to persist on a growth path this 2022, as we continue to introduce more innovative financial services that empower growing businesses with big banking solutions,” according to Don Pansacola, NextPay Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder.
In 2021, NextPay raised a total of US$1.9M, twice as much as its target of raising US$1M in total investments that year. The amount includes the pre-seed backing of Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator Y Combinator and the seed funding round that was led by Singapore-based venture capitalist Golden Gate Ventures and Gentree Fund, a private investment vehicle of the Sy Family — owners of the Filipino conglomerate SM Group.
The NextPay platform provides underserved customers democratized access to easy and affordable financial services such as digital invoicing, cash management, and batch payments to any bank or eWallet in the Philippines.
Last year, the company introduced a new innovative service called Reusable Payment Links, which allows businesses to collect customer payments easily. This new service lets customers select their preferred payment method to settle a bill. Payment Links were also used for the donation drive for Typhoon Odette victims with NextPay and its partner organizations raising PHP1.43M.
In addition, the company also introduced online-to-offline (O2O) disbursements through remittance centers aimed at addressing the growing demand for more digital financial services in the country. On top of this, several improvements on the platform had been rolled out to make managing a business easier and streamlined for its customers.
“As we continue to evolve as a fintech startup that addresses the needs of growing businesses, we reaffirm our commitment to further improving our platform through innovation. We aim to introduce more flexible disbursement options, as well as explore high-growth areas of trade financing, corporate cards, and cryptocurrency services,” said Aldrich Tan, NextPay Chief Experience Officer and Co-Founder.
For the first half of 2022, NextPay plans in launching fundraising activities to support its plans for innovation and growth.
“We are optimistic about the opportunities for the year 2022. As we start the next round of fundraising this year, we remain committed to providing big banking services to small businesses. We will continue to innovate this year and introduce more digital financial services to serve the ever-evolving needs of our customers,” Pansacola added.