Voyager Innovations (Voyager), the fintech arm of integrated telco PLDT, $210 million in new funds, propelling Voyager’s valuation to unicorn plus status, at nearly $1.4 billion. Voyager operates e-wallet PayMaya and neobank Maya Bank.

Leading the round is new investor SIG Venture Capital, the Asian venture capital arm of SIG. Other new investors include Singapore-based global investor EDBI and investment holding company First Pacific Company Ltd. (First Pacific).

Also participating in the round are Voyager’s existing shareholders PLDT Inc. (PLDT); KKR, a global investment firm; Tencent, a leading technology company; International Finance Corp. (IFC); and IFC Emerging Asia Fund and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, two funds managed by the IFC Asset Management Company (IFC AMC), a division of IFC.

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“The strong endorsement from our new shareholders and participation of our existing investors in this fundraising validates the company’s ability to expand into neobanking and add new cutting-edge financial products and services,” said Shailesh Baidwan, president, Voyager and PayMaya.

Voyager will use the new funds to launch Maya Bank services, such as savings and credit, which will be offered seamlessly across PayMaya’s platforms for consumers and enterprises, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises or MSMEs. It will also continue to expand PayMaya’s offering with new products like cryptocurrency, micro-investments, insurance, and more, as the all-in-one money app of the Philippines.

Cryptocurrency

In January 2022, PayMaya secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider license allowing it to offer services or engage in activities that provide facility for the transfer or exchange of virtual assets, including cryptocurrency, which it launched recently.

In September 2021, Maya Bank secured the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board approval to establish a digital bank and commenced the pilot testing in March 2022.

“Leveraging PayMaya’s distribution strength with enterprises and consumers, Maya Bank has the potential to be one of the most successful digital banks not just in the Philippines, but (also) globally,” said Akshay Bajaj who led the investment for SIG.

As of end-March 2022, PayMaya had over 47 million registered users across its consumer platforms, more than two-thirds of the adult population in the Philippines.