JazzyPay, a payment startup based in the Philippines, has raised USD 500,000 seed funding in a round led by Cocoon Capital, the company announced on Thursday. The fintech said it will utilize the fresh capital to expand its merchant network across the country and to invest in product development.
Founded in 2018, JazzyPay offers a platform that processes 27 different payment methods. Aside from credit and debit cards, it supports e-wallets such as AliPay, CoinsPH, GCash, GrabPay, and WeChat Pay. The startup is currently serving hundreds of merchants, mainly in the health care and education sector.
In a statement, JazzyPay says that traditional providers require businesses to pay deposits of up to USD 10,000 per payment terminal, rendering digital payments inaccessible to most businesses in the country. As a result, 80% of hospitals, dentists, and schools in the Philippines still rely on cash or checks for big-ticket payments.
Co-founders Kathleen Acosta and Joshua Marindo say they have experienced first-hand that this can delay treatment in a medical emergency. “The last thing people should think about is the payment method,” Acosta told KrASIA.
JazzyPay is currently targeting underserved businesses, which are primarily hospitals, schools, clinics, and medical suppliers. “But the payment gateway allows us to support businesses of all sizes, from every industry,” she said. The startup already received requests from, among others, the real estate sector and travel agencies.
While banks take around three months for the know-your-customer (KYC) process, JazzyPay says it allows merchants to adopt cashless payments within a day, and without requiring any deposit, which provides the startup with an advantage over larger payment processors.
Lowering the barriers
“Since our platform is a standalone, ready-to-use web and app, we have eliminated the technical barriers for traditional businesses who are unable to set up their own website and integrate with third-party payment gateway APIs that require a lot of time and money,” said Acosta.
JazzyPay is fully licensed by the Philippine government and a registered operator of payment systems (OPS), regulated by the central bank. It recently obtained the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) level 1 certificate and has passed rigorous testing performed by Sisa Information Security, according to the company.