Bengaluru-based payment service firm Electronic Cash and Payment Solutions (ECAPS) and Philippines-based fintech startup Ayannah have merged to create a new entity, Ayannah Global, that would provide digital financial services to the fledgling middle class in South Asia and South-east Asia.
While the companies did not reveal the transaction value, the merged entity is headquartered in Singapore and plans to raise USD 30 to 50 million in Series B round, according to media reports. Ayannah is backed by venture capital firms Wavemaker Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, 500 Startups, and several large family offices across Asia.
Ayannah Global will be jointly headed by co-chief executive officers Miguel Perez, former chief executive of Ayannah, and Praveen Suri, former chief executive of ECAPS. A Business Times (BT) report said veteran banker Ray Ferguson has been appointed chairman of Ayannah Global.
“Both companies saw huge operational and technological synergies in their products and growth strategy, and a merger will enable the enlarged entity to better reach customers, scale-up product development, and expand their reach within Southeast Asia,” a spokesperson for Ayannah Global told Tech in Asia.
Ten-year-old Ayannah has an inbuild AI-enabled platform that offers a suite of financial and lifestyle products and services ranging from payments, remittances, insurance, and telemedicine. Founded in 2013, ECAPS, on the other hand, provides a slew of payments service to businesses including mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solutions, micro-ATM services, domestic money transfer for migrants, assisted e-commerce, and travel booking services, among other things. It also provides working capital loans to the retailers and distributors it works with. According to its website, it has over 1,500 distributors, 30,000 retailers, and has facilitated over 11 million transactions.
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Together, Ayannah and ECAPS have operations in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. After the merger, Ayannah Global looks to extend its reach to Vietnam, catering to the emerging middle class. According to media reports, the merged entity is expected to have a reach of over 10 million customers, mainly in the Philippines and India. The firms will leverage its mobile app and a growing network of over 60,000 offline touch points. The BT report said Ayannah Global is likely to expand its current product suite to cater to businesses.
Ayannah Global said it is seeing greater demand for its open banking and omnichannel distribution platform amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company plans to eventually include savings and investment products in its omnichannel open banking platform.
The group has also launched Kaya, a digital marketplace connecting middle-class customers and entrepreneurs with banks, lenders, and insurers in the Philippines, BT said. It added that the newly-formed firm will launch versions of the platform in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam later this year.