Fintech Paywatch secures $30m in series A funding round

Vanderbilt University and Third Prime led the investment round.

Fintech and salary lending services provider Paywatch has raised $30m (PHP1.76b) in funding, it announced on 24 June.

The earned-wage access (EWA) services provider offers a unique form of payday loan called “on-demand pay”, but with the promise of transparent pricing and 0% interest charge subject to terms.

Workers can access a part of their “accumulated salary” in real-time as it is earned and before the end of their payroll cycle. Paywatch said that this has helped decrease employees’ dependence on loans. For the employers’ side, it has boosted employee retention and productivity, the fintech said.

Paywatch received over $14m (PHP821m) in series A equity investment, led by Third Prime and a consortium of US investors that included Vanderbilt University and the University of Illinois Foundation. 

Global banks– including Citi– lent out an additional $16m (PHP939m) to Paywatch. Paywatch plans to use the funds for “product expansion.”

The combined $30m in funds is reportedly “the largest funding round closed by an EWA player in Southeast Asia,” Paywatch said in a press release.

Park Hyatt, DFI Retail Group (including Guardian), KFC, Pizza Hut (part of QSR Brands), Dunkin’, Wilmar International, PayNet, CGV cinemas, Lotus’s, Jaya Grocer (an affiliate of Grab), major BPO centers, and manufacturing companies have so far partnered with Paywatch.  

As of 2024, Paywatch has processed over $58m (PHP3.4b) in salaries, with $8m disbursed per month. The disbursement is growth month-by-month by as much as 15%. These numbers reportedly make Paywatch the largest EWA service in Asia based on volume of transactions.

Paywatch expects to reach well over $120m (PHP7.04b) in salaries disbursed by end-2024.