Filipino Startup BillEase Scores P1 Billion Credit Facility
Filipino startup BillEase has secured a $20 million (about P1.04 billion) debt facility Lendable, an emerging market credit provider, raising its total recent funding to $31 million (P1.62 billion).
BillEase had earlier raised $11 million in a Series B round from VCs such as BurdaPrincipal Investments, MDI Ventures, KB Investment, and others. It intends to use the fresh funds to accelerate the growth of its business
Launched in 2017 as a card-free buy now, pay later (BNPL) and consumer finance app, BillEase offers a one-stop shop for financial services for consumers and retailers.
“This facility is a further validation of our business and the platform our team has built over the past few years and helps to firmly position BillEase as the leading BNPL brand in the Philippines,” said Georg Steiger, CEO and co-founder of First Digital Finance Corporation (FDFC) which operates the BillEase app. “With Lendable’s support, we will be able to continue the strong growth in customer onboarding and expand our loan portfolio. We share the same focus on creating financing solutions that serve the emerging consumer segment as the Lendable team and we are excited to work with them to further financial inclusion in the Philippines.”
Steiger added that BillEase now also offers products such as low-cost cash loans, e-wallet top-ups to all major wallets like GCash, PayMaya, Coins.ph, GrabPay, and ShopeePay, prepaid mobile load, and gaming credits. For merchants, the startup also offers omnichannel payment solutions that help both online and offline retailers provide customizable installment plans to attract and retain customers.
"Our recent success is a direct result of having a clear focus: to build a product that enables and delights our customers and helps them achieve upward financial mobility to improve their lives,” Steiger says. “And we are incredibly grateful for their talent and dedication to the mission."
According to BillEase, the company is growing “rapidly,” with volume during the first quarter of 2022 up five times compared to the same period last year. It also disclosed that it has already achieved profitability in 2021.
The company says it has grown its merchant partners from only 100 merchants a year ago to over 700 this year. That includes well-known companies and brands such as Lazada, Samsung, Philippine Airlines, Cole Haan, Philips, Vivo, Kimstore, Havaianas, Anson’s, Mandaue Foam, Western Appliances, Coleman, KitchenAid, TUMI, Hedgren, DC Shoes, Bratpack, Oster, and Tempur, among many others. BillEase has also established strategic partnerships with five leading payment players in the country: Xendit, 2C2P, Paynamics, Dragonpay, and Union Bank of the Philippines’ BUX.
“We believe that financial inclusion needs to be sustainable,” Steiger says. “We enjoy very strong unit economics and this is really driven by two factors: First, predictive risk models that allow us to automate almost all of our loan approvals and keep process and risk cost low and second our loyal customer base. Customers stick with us because we continue to invest in building out our product and we can pass on savings and offer low rates,” Steiger said.
“Lendable is extremely proud to be partnering with BillEase, a business that shares many of its values with us,” says Hani Ibrahim, Lendable’s chief investment officer. “We have enjoyed working with Georg and the rest of the BillEase team and feel we are partnering with a fintech company that can use our commercial capital to catalyze the provision of financial services to the underserved in the Philippines. BillEase has grown tremendously as a business, and we are keen to continue supporting their growth trajectory by providing sustainable and better access to financial products.”
