Despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first month of its operations in the Philippines, fintech startup Xendit bounced back as demand for digital financial services grew in 2021.

Launched in December last year, Xendit Philippines (Xendit) became the first Philippine payment gateway to offer all three of the top e-wallets: GCash, GrabPay, and PayMaya. The mainly B2B fintech solutions firm is also the first to launch a Direct Debit solution in partnership with top banks Bank of the Philippine Islands, UnionBank, Banco de Oro, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

It also partnered with another startup BillEase to provide a Buy Now, Pay Later solution.

Xendit PayLater enables store financing for online businesses
Xendit partners with three major e-wallets in the Philippines

“We are on track with our goal of creating a seamless digital infrastructure for the Philippines,” said Yang Yang Zhang, managing director, Xendit Philippines. “Many have embraced the benefits of cashless payments and we expect continued demand even after the pandemic. When this is combined with regulators being open to innovation and the Philippine economy on the cusp of hypergrowth, digital transformation will happen sooner rather than later.”

Xendit also launched the Level Up Grant, a campaign built specifically for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2021, which waived two months of transaction fees across all channels.

2022 roadmap

As it enters the second year of operations in the Philippines, Xendit will introduce xenCapital, a lending solution with flexible financing options. This will serve as an alternative to traditional financial institutions, grounded on simplicity, speed, and service. Xendit promises minimal requirements so businesses can quickly scale.

Another is Illuma, a value-added service that enables businesses to leverage data and strengthens business processes. This will grant SMEs the ability to validate contacts, accounts, and identity documents, and screen for fraud. Lastly, xenRemit aims to accelerate innovation within the remittance field.

Founded in Indonesia, Xendit closes 2021 by achieving unicorn status after securing $150 million in Series C funding. The payments infrastructure startup is now one of 35 unicorns in Southeast Asia, with a current valuation of $1 billion. Xendit has grown 25% month on month, with a 200% increase in total payments volume year on year. In less than 12 months, it has processed more than two million debit transactions worth $10 billion from more than 350,000 linked bank accounts.