Higala, an instant payment system in the Philippines, has extended its seed funding round to $2.8 million with fresh funds from Talino Venture Studios, a global venture studio for sustainable innovation.

The firm said in a statement on Wednesday that the seed fund extension round was led by a Singapore-licensed venture capital firm 1982 Venture.

It also received continued support from existing investors Talino Ventures and Chemonics.

“This funding milestone will allow Higala to accelerate the roll-out of services across its already 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 advancing the adoption of digital banking,” said Higala Chief Executive Officer Winston Damarillo.

He said the firm aims to advance financial inclusion in the country and for helping shore up and accelerate its programs that promote participation and interoperability of underserved financial institutions in the Philippines.

Slated for launch in the second quarter of this year, Higala said its platform banking will enable smaller banks and other financial institutions to offer digital payment services, which is a gateway to their access and participation to instant payment systems.

“Built on modern ISO 20022 native infrastructure, Higala’s network enables its partners to launch new services and reach new segments, while strengthening existing business
lines with increased reliability and lower costs,” stated Higala President and Chief Revenue Officer Vice Catudio.

He noted the support of the firm’s growing list of network partners, which includes commercial banks, electronic money issuers and payments systems operators, who are driving new revenue streams based on system interoperability.

Higala is a Philippines’ registered operator of a payment system (OPS), pioneering inclusive instant payments system, connecting banks, e-money issuers, and financial institutions through an open payments infrastructure.

Built on Mojaloop technology, the firm makes transactions seamless, affordable, and accessible for everyone, supporting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ goal of advancing financial inclusion.

“Higala’s innovative approach to inclusive instant payments is directly aligned with our vision of using fintech to change lives,

“The firm’s team is incredible with a proven track record in building core payments infrastructure and we are proud to partner with the firm in launching a modern payments rail, which will make the Philippines’ five billion monthly transactions faster, cheaper, and available to all sectors of the economy,” said Scott Krivokopich, Managing Partner at 1982 Ventures.

Since its introduction last year, Higala has been expanding financial access to different parts of the country by connecting more rural banks, thrift banks, commercial banks, and electronic money issuers to its network, as well as lowering the cost of real-time payments and reducing the on-ramp barrier.

Recently, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has partnered with Higala to provide the core technology to SynerFi, an open payments platform that provides digital
payments access to smaller financial institutions in the Philippines.

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.

“This is the realization of BSP’s open finance roadmap initially focusing on open payments use cases making digital transactions more seamless and frictionless,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer and FinTech Alliance PH Chairman.

It is noted that this initiative was first introduced at the Philippines Country Pavilion in November last year.

Powered by Mojaloop technology, an open source instant payment system supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Higala said it continues to work with partners RCBC, Xendit, FinTech Alliance PH, and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines.

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