Paymongo hunts 3 more partner firms 

PayMongo, a payments and loan app provider, aims to partner with three more digital banks or other financial firms to expand its lending services to small enterprises, building on its customer growth of 7,000 merchant partners.

PayMongo chief executive officer Jojo Malolos said the financial technology firm is currently working with GoTyme Bank, which is part of the Gokongwei Group.

He said at least 300 merchants have availed of loans using PayMongo, of which 60 percent renewed their loans.

“By providing both direct financial tools and enabling other platforms to build on our infrastructure, we’re creating multiple pathways for businesses to grow,” Malolos said last Friday during the firm’s sixth anniversary.

P180-B unserved loans

PayMongo co-founder and chairman Luis Sia said the firm tripled its revenues last year and further increased gross profit by 3.6 times.

Meanwhile, total payment volume grew by 4.3 times. A study by the Asian Development Bank said Filipino small and medium enterprises seek around P67 billion to P180 billion in business loans to sustain and expand their operations.

Malolos said PayMongo aims to grow its profit four to 10 times this year as the firm enhances its processes for lending, payments, and onboarding of customers.

Sia said PayMongo aims to shorten the onboarding time to less than 30 seconds, strengthen cybersecurity, speed up delivery of payments to merchants, and expand integration of various payment tools, such as credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and direct online banking.

“We encourage the adoption of digital payments to bring more Filipinos into the formal financial system,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said in a virtual speech to PayMongo last Friday.

“Rest assured, the BSP will work hand in hand with the industry to ensure a safe, secure, efficient, and inclusive digital payment ecosystem,” he added.

Malolos said PayMongo is supported by major investors, including Peter Thiel who co-founded PayPal. Malolos shared that PayMongo raised $31 million in 2021 to expand its business.