US-based Philippine fintech aims for $146-B mart – Manila Bulletin

BayaniPay, a Los Angeles-based Philippine fintech company, aims to capture 20 percent of the $146 billion global market for Philippine remittances in three years, CEO Winston Damarillo told reporters.

BayaniPay is already the first cross-border digital financial service for the 4.2 million strong Filipino American community.

To date, fintech accounts for $146 billion or 14.4 percent of the Asian American market in the United States, a segment previously underserved by traditional banks and other financial institutions.

Recently, the company raised $4.5 million in seed funding from East West Bank, Wavemaker Partners and Talino Venture Labs.

Earlier this year, BayaniPay contracted with East West Bank, the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California, to offer Filipino American customers banking services, including a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured checking account.

East West Bank joins BDO Unibank, the Philippines’ largest bank; Asian Journal, one of the leaders in the Asian American media industry; and Seafood City, the largest Filipino-owned supermarket chain in the United States, in BayaniPay’s list of partners.

Fintech offers affordable cross-border financial services from the US to the Philippines.

Their customers get access to a digital checking account, a debit card that maximizes purchasing power, and zero transfer fees plus market-leading exchange rates for Filipino Americans sending money home.

BayaniPay partners with BDO Unibank to enable US users to pay for services directly in the Philippines through payment code technologies.

Local businesses and services can simply provide Filipino American customers with payment codes that they can use for easy and convenient cross-border payment of bills, tuition and fees, medical expenses, and even property.

In its first three months in the market, BayaniPay disrupted the digital remittance industry by offering, through BDO Unibank, zero fees and market-leading exchange rates.

Its neobank extension allows customers to open a digital bank account with a Visa debit card in the US through East West Bank – enabling cross-border payments and rewards on customer transactions.

The fresh capital from East West Bank and Wavemaker Partners will allow BayaniPay to expand its technology team as the company scales its product lineup and expands into more geographies.

Since the announcement of the expansion, BayaniPay has gained over 7,000 users.