SG fintech firm UNOAsia, owner of digital bank in the Philippines, raises $11m funding

UNOAsia Pte Ltd, the Singapore-headquartered primary incorporator of UNO Digital Bank (UNObank) in the Philippines, announced that it has secured $11 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Creador Private Equity (Creador).

Creador, which is headquartered in Malaysia, has already invested a total of $21 million and has plans to increase this further, making it UNOAsia’s largest investor. To date, UNOAsia has secured $44.5 million in investment in its pre-seed, seed, and pre-Series A rounds, which includes drawn-down capital of $34 million.

UNObank is a full-spectrum credit-led digital bank licensed under the Digital Banking License framework promulgated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in the Philippines. With the digital bank, Filipinos can use one trusted app to save, borrow, transact, invest, and protect their money; to manage their finances with speed and ease.

“The pre-Series A round led by Creador reflects continued investor confidence in our digital bank. The additional capital will help us to further invest to support our growth, as well as see us through the commercial launch of UNO Digital Bank, which is now a live operating bank under closed-loop ‘beta’,” said Manish Bhai, the CEO of UNObank.

It is estimated that out of the Philippines’ 70 million adult population, about 45 million are underbanked, which limits their access to financial services and the assistance they need to purchase homes, further their education, reduce their debt, invest in businesses, and ultimately improve their lives, said Creador managing director Omar Mahmoud.

“Our investment in UNOAsia will allow us to promote financial inclusion in a country where only 10% are borrowing from the organised sector, which in turn would make a positive impact on millions of Filipinos and the broader community,” Mahmoud added.

UNObank comprises the six digital banks that secured licenses to operate in the Philippines. It joins Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.; GOtyme of the Gokongwei Group and Singapore-based Tyme; Maya Bank of Voyager Innovations, Inc.; Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), subsidiary of Land Bank of the Philippines; and UnionDigital of UnionBank of the Philippines.