Filipino FinTech and online payments startup PayMongo has recently secured US$31M in Series B funding participated by Justin Mateen’s JAM Fund, Philippine VC firms ICCP-SBI Venture Partners and Lisa Gokongwei’s Kaya Founders, together with existing investors Global Founders Capital and SOMA Capital. Also joining the round are founders of top European fintech unicorns and startups Qonto, Viva Wallet, Billie, and Scalable.
The round brings the company’s total funding to just under US$46M following a US$12M Series A round in 2020 and a US$2.7M seed round in 2019.
“This investment is a testament to our growth and the continued growth of our merchants. With this Series B, we will invest further in our merchants’ successes by giving them more means to move money seamlessly online,” according to Francis Plaza, CEO and co-founder of PayMongo.
Since closing its Series A in September 2020, PayMongo has achieved a phenomenal 3x growth in merchant base and a 4x growth in monthly transaction volumes. While it caters to businesses of all sizes, the company aims to achieve sustainable growth by serving small (and micro) and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for 99% of businesses in the Philippines and have historically been underserved by traditional payment providers.
“As one of PayMongo’s first investors, I’ve seen their path from simplifying payments for a handful of businesses to now being a company that thousands of merchants depend on for their day-to-day operations. I’m excited by their progress and thrilled to support the team once again as they generate greater economic opportunities through the digital economy,” said JAM Fund and Tinder founder Justin Mateen.
PayMongo will scale its operations by strengthening its current payments infrastructure and venturing into more financial services. This involves building products such as disbursements, capital lending, “buy now, pay later,” subscriptions, and recurring payments, among many others. It will likewise explore how the Philippines can serve as a springboard for the digital transformation of financial services in other emerging markets.
“While payment acceptance is crucial, it is just one of the many services that entrepreneurs need to build a successful online business. Our goal is to create a one-stop-shop for all these financial needs in the broader Southeast Asian region, starting with the Philippines,” added by Plaza.
Based on a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, the Philippine digital economy is predicted to grow to US$40B by 2025, having registered the fastest growth rate in Southeast Asia throughout the pandemic. Its growth in recent years has been led by companies and consumers adopting digital platforms and services to embrace the shift to e-commerce.
By strengthening its own capacities, PayMongo aims to lower the barriers to entry for Filipino businesses to the digital economy.
“We are very proud to be supporting PayMongo as our first FinTech investment in ICCP’s Fund VI. As the oldest operating VC firm in the Philippines and having invested in Silicon Valley since the 90s, we see the importance of FinTech as a foundational layer for the digital economy. As PayMongo revolutionizes business-to-business payments in our country, they will expedite the growth of many more industries,” said Miguel Encarnacion, Managing Director at ICCP-SBI Venture Partners.