BayaniPay eyes Canada for expansion

Financial technology and remittances startup BayaniPay, catering mainly to the Filipino/Asian-American market, is eyeing to expand its footprint further to Canada.

At a press briefing in Makati City on Wednesday, BayaniPay CEO Winston Damarillo said the company intends to bankroll its North America expansion with the fresh seed funding of $2.1 million it secured from investors Talino Ventures and PTGC, which brought its total seed fund to date at $6.6 million.

“We follow where the Filipino money is. Our expansion is in Canada... Launch in Canada is by first quarter 2024,” Damarillo said.

In 2021, Filipino immigrants in Canada recorded a population of almost one million, while Filipino immigrants in the US numbered around 2 million, comprising more than 4% out of over 45.3 million US immigrants.

Currently, BayaniPay caters to customers in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Alaska by allowing them to remit funds to their loved ones and make direct payments to service providers in the Philippines.

In the first semester of 2023, BayaniPay was able to grow its average transaction value to over P100 million per month, a huge jump from only P30.64 million in average transactions last year.

Damarillo said this is due to the strong demand for cross-border payment solutions, including remittances as well as bills payments.

With this, BayaniPay is targeting to reach P1 billion in total transaction value this year.

“We are on track to meet this milestone, as we continue to acquire more customers each month. The demand for BayaniPay continues to grow as more and more Filipinos see the value and benefit of convenience, while allowing them to enjoy zero fees and competitive foreign exchange rates,” Damarillo said.

In the first six months of 2023, BayaniPay recorded a 36% growth in new users.

It is also strengthening its partnerships with other institutions to further expand its portfolio of services. —KBK, GMA Integrated News