Higala gets $2.8 million in fresh funds for platform banking rollout

INSTANT PAYMENT system Higala has secured fresh funds from two venture capital firms to extend its seed funding round to $2.8 million, which will help fund its platform bank that will be rolled out next quarter.

The seed fund extension round was led by 1982 Ventures, a Singapore-licensed venture capital firm that invests in fintech startups in Southeast Asia. Also joining the round was Talino Venture Studios.

Higala is owned by Talino Venture Studios and Chemonics International.

“This funding milestone of Higala will greatly benefit its robust ecosystem, which now includes an instant payment system, a platform bank, and an extensive network of collaborators who are all committed to improving financial system resilience and accelerating the adoption of digital banking,” Higala and Talino Venture Studios Chief Executive Officer Winston L. Damarillo said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

“In fact, we have a very good long queue of funding. The next stage is once you launch, we’re going to raise another set of funding to scale the money,” Mr. Damarillo said.

Higala’s platform banking will allow smaller financial institutions to offer digital payment services.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) recently partnered with Higala to provide the core technology to SynerFi, an open payments platform.

“Some of the banks that have been publicly announced as part of Higala’s network include the initial 40 participants to RCBC’s SynerFi service and select rural banks that are part of the RCBC ATMGo network,” Higala said.

“This is the realization of BSP’s open finance roadmap initially focusing on open payments use cases making digital transactions more seamless and frictionless,” RCBC Executive Vice-President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Angelito M. Villanueva said. — A.E.O. Jose