Alibaba’s Ant Financial is making its first foray into the Philippines via partnership with Ayala and an investment into Globe Telecom’s Fintech business unit Mynt.
The fresh capital infusion will help Mynt achieve its vision of becoming a world-class online and offline payment provider as well as scale up its mobile wallet services and quickly expand its digital financial services.
Mynt is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Capital Venture Holdings (GCVHI) under Globe Telecom. Upon closing of the transaction, Ant Financial will own a substantial minority interest in Mynt, while Ayala Corp will acquire a minority interest. GCVHI will hold the remaining equity interest.
Ernest Cu, Globe President and Chief Executive Officer, Ernest Cu said the capital infusion from will help position Mynt to democratize financial services in the Philippines.
Mynt is pioneering mobile and digital initiatives that provide financial services that previously were not available to most Filipinos. It is currently the biggest mobile money base in the Philippines with over 3 million registered customers and 1 billion pesos ($19.9 million) worth of transactions per week.
Mynt claims to be the only company in the country that serves as a one-stop shop for Fintech services for consumers, merchants, and organizations through GCash and Fuse Lending.
Mynt operates GCash and Fuse Lending. GCash is a micropayment service used to buy prepaid load, pay bills, send money, make donations, shop online, and purchase goods without the need for cash.
Fuse Lending offers personal and business loans to unbanked and underserved Filipinos through the use of mobile technology, alternative data, as well as innovative credit scoring methods.