Sequoia joins $21m Series A for Philippines digital bank
Sequoia Capital India and US-based Point72 Ventures have led a $21 million Series A round for Tonik, a Singapore-based digital bank launching initial operations in the Philippines.
Insignia Ventures Partners and Credence Partners, which backed a $6 million round earlier this year, also participated. Tonik, which aims to provide retail services around deposits, loans, payments, and cards, received its banking license from the Philippines regulator in January. It will maintain support and R&D functions in Singapore and India.
“We believe deeply in Tonik’s vision for a digital bank that is underpinned by the customer protections inherent in being a government-approved bank, and also the flexibility of being a completely digital start-up,” Pete Casella, head of fintech investment at Point72, said in a statement. “This unique combination will enable Tonik to provide truly innovative products to its customers while also capturing the benefit of bank economics.”
Tonik positions itself as the first digital-only bank in Southeast Asia and one of only a few globally with its own bank license. It estimates the Philippines represents a $140 billion retail savings market and a $100 billion unsecured consumer lending opportunity. Its target clients, digitally native Filipinos, have an average age of 24 and are said to constitute the largest market globally in terms of daily internet and social media usage. Operations in the country are expected to begin with the year.
“COVID-19 is causing consumers all over the globe to save more for emergencies, to care more about the safety of their money as well as about earning a fair interest rate on their deposits while having access to their funds for easy withdrawal and transfer,” Greg Krasnov, founder and CEO of Tonik, added. “In the Philippines, where over 70% of the population remains unbanked, we are observing a rapid jump in consumer demand for digital banking and digital transfers since the start of the year.”
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