Tonik, a Southeast Asia-focused digital bank, announced that it has raised US$6 million in an institutional funding round led by VC investors Insignia Ventures Partners and Credence Partners, with participation from regional family offices and angel investors.
Tonik founder and CEO Greg Krasnov / Photo credit: Tonik
The company plans to use the new funds to launch its digital bank in the Philippines and start commercial operations in the third quarter of 2020, according to a statement.
Founded in 2018, Singapore-based Tonik provides retail financial products, including savings deposits, loans, current accounts, payments, and cards, on a secure digital banking platform.
It will launch in the Philippines with its own bank license granted by the local banking regulator, with support and research and development functions based in Singapore and Chennai, India. Tonik claims to be the first digital bank in Southeast Asia and one of the very few globally to be operating on the basis of its own bank license.
The Philippines represents a US$140 billion retail deposit market and a US$100 billion unsecured consumer lending opportunity, according to Tonik.
“Over 70% of the adult population in the Philippines remains unbanked, and market research indicates that over 50% of existing bank clients would be keen to switch their deposits to a pure-play digital contender,” said Greg Krasnov, founder and CEO of Tonik.
In Singapore, the government last year announced that it will issue up to five new digital bank licenses, consisting of up to two digital full bank licenses and three digital wholesale bank licenses. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said that it has received a total of 21 applications for digital bank licenses at the close of applications last year.
Editing by Jonathan Burgos
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