BayaniPay Raises $4.5M Seed Funding to Provide cross-border Banking to Asian Americans

BayaniPay offers easy, convenient, and low-cost cross-border financial services for global professionals and has raised $4.5 million in seed funding from East West Bank, Wavemaker Partners, and Talino Venture Labs.

 

BayaniPay partnered with East West Bank, the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California, earlier this year to offer Filipino American consumers banking services, including an FDIC-insured checking account. In BayaniPay's roster of industry-leading partners, East West Bank joins BDO Unibank, the largest bank in the Philippines; Asian Journal, a leader in the Asian American media business; and Seafood City, the largest Filipino-owned supermarket chain in the United States.

This collaboration positions BayaniPay as the first cross-border, digital financial service for the Filipino American community, which comprises 4.2 million individuals and accounts for $146 billion or 14.4% of the Asian American market in the United States: a previously underserved segment by traditional banks and other financial institutions.

BayaniPay offers affordable, simple, and convenient cross-border financial services between the United States and the Philippines. Its customers have access to a digital checking account, a debit card that increases spending power, zero-fee remittance and market-leading foreign exchange rates for Filipino-Americans sending money back home.

Expanding global financial services powered by BDO Unibank
BayaniPay will provide additional financial services to Filipinos in the United States in collaboration with BDO Unibank. BayaniPay is partnering with BDO Unibank to enable its users in the United States to directly pay for services in the Philippines via paycode technologies. Local companies and services can supply Filipino-American consumers with paycodes for effortless and convenient cross-border payment of bills, tuition and school fees, medical bills, and even real estate. BDO Unibank continues to provide worldwide professionals with convenience by collaborating with BayaniPay.

Breaking ceilings in the digital banking landscape
BayaniPay disrupted the digital remittance sector during its first three months on the market by providing zero fees and market-leading exchange rates via BDO Unibank. Its neobank expansion enables clients to open a digital bank account in the United States with a Visa debit card via East West Bank, facilitating faster, frictionless cross-border payments and rewards on customer transactions.

“On behalf of East West Bank, I applaud BayaniPay’s progress in our digital banking technology to provide omnichannel banking as a service to underserved customers,” said Parker Shi, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of East West Bank. “This means that BayaniPay customers can enjoy the same quality of service, whether they’re banking with their mobile devices or transacting at their local East West Bank branch.”

Since announcing its expansion, BayaniPay has gained over 7,000 users and its work in disrupting the global banking landscape has caught the attention of many digital publications, including Forbes and American Banker.

"We are excited about how quickly BayaniPay has grown since we first launched, "said BayaniPay CEO Winston Damarillo. "Our ongoing efforts are driven by the desire to eliminate the financial hardships of new immigrants and minority communities."

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

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