Philippines’ Mynt bags $175m funding to capitalize on mobile payments surge

The Philippines’ Globe Fintech Innovations (Mynt), the fintech arm of telco major Globe and operator of e-wallet service GCash, has raised US$175 million in fresh funding to capitalize on the surge in mobile payment usage brought by Covid-19.

Photo credit: Jonas Leupe

Mynt raised the total amount over multiple tranches from ASP Philippines, a limited partnership fund managed by investment firm Bow Wave Capital Management, and existing shareholders. This brings the company’s post-money valuation close to US$1 billion, it said in a statement.

“The pandemic has acted as a catalyst in highlighting the importance of digital finance in society today,” shared Mynt CEO and president Martha Sazon.

In 2020, Mynt said that GCash recorded a gross transaction value of over 1 trillion pesos (US$20.8 billion), spurred by online payment services, bank cash-ins, and money transfers. So far, the company claims that GCash has helped over 33 million Filipinos transact both online and offline, open deposit accounts, invest in money market funds, and acquire insurance products.

“We are […] encouraged by the fact that Mynt’s momentum has continued, even as the country moved out of quarantine restrictions, suggesting a fundamental shift in our customers’ behavior toward a cashless lifestyle,” added Ernest Cu, chairman of the board of Mynt.

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Bow Wave is a close-ended PE fund that looks to invest in online and mobile payment opportunities globally, particularly in strategic partners and investments of Ant Group and Alibaba.

The PE funds investment into Mynt marks Bow Wave’s first in the Philippines, which will translate into a minority equity interest in Mynt, according to the statement. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In 2017, Ant Group took a “substantial minority interest” in Mynt, which then had 3 million registered users in the country.