Fintech Startup Higala Books Additional $2.8 Million in Seed Round Funding

Local financial technology startup Higala Technology Inc. has secured $2.8 million in additional funds in its seed round to help accelerate its expansion plans, including the formal launch of its platform banking service.  

During a news conference in late March, the company said the additional investment came from Talino Venture Studios and Singapore-based VC firm 1982 Ventures, which specializes in backing fintech startups across Southeast Asia.

“Funding has been really, really hard these days,” Higala CEO Winston Damarillo said during a press briefing. “And so we’re so happy that a Singaporean VC called 1982 Ventures is leading a round of financing that will culminate into a total of $2.8 million.”  

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Scott Krivokopich, Managing Partner at 1982 Ventures, said the Singapore-licensed VC invested in Higala is consistent with its vision of “using fintech to change lives.”  

“We are proud to partner with Higala 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,” Krivokopich added.

Launched in 2024, Higala operates a real-time payments network. The company works to connect more rural banks, thrift banks, commercial banks, and electronic money issuers to its network, which promises lower transaction costs and reduced barriers to digital payments adoption.  

Higala is set to launch its platform banking service in the second quarter of this year, allowing smaller financial institutions to offer digital payment services and participate in the instant payments ecosystem. 

The fintech firm’s growing network now includes Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.’s (RCBC) SynerFi participants and select rural banks such as Rizal Microbank, Guagua Rural Bank, Rural Bank of Cadiz, Rural Bank of Ilog, and Pangasinan Bank, among others.

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

Higala is powered by Mojaloop, an open-source instant payment system supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The system enables seamless interoperability among financial institutions, a crucial step in driving financial inclusion in the Philippines.

“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, adding, ”We’re thankful for the support of our growing list of network partners, which includes leading commercial banks, electronic money issuers and payments systems operators, who are driving new revenue streams based on system interoperability.”  

Damarillo and Catudio were honored in this year’s list of Startup Trailblazers, which was unveiled during the recent BUILD Startup Festival.