Philippine-based consumer fintech startup Salmon Group Ltd. has announced its partnership with electronic payments systems provider ECPay to enhance financial access in Southeast Asia.
This collaboration aims to broaden financial accessibility for over 500 million underserved individuals in the region, particularly those without traditional banking accounts, according to the announcement.
By utilizing ECPay’s extensive payment network, Salmon’s customers gain greater flexibility and convenience in managing financial obligations, per the announcement.
The partnership leverages ECPay’s extensive network, which includes over 490,000 over-the-counter payment centers and more than 3,000 digital payment touchpoints located in convenience stores, pawnshops, remittance centers, and rural banks across the Philippines.
“In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is not just important, it’s a must and this collaboration allows us to extend our reach and accessibility, ensuring that our customers can easily manage their financial transactions wherever they are,” said Raffy Montemayor, Co-Founder of Salmon and Chairman of the Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna), Inc.
Salmon was founded in July 2022 by Pavel Fedorov, George Chesakov, and Raffy Montemayor. In July last year, it secured a $20-million debt facility from US-based emerging markets specialist investor Argentem Creek Partners.
The partnership with ECPay also comes four months after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) proposed to invest $7 million in Salmon, which is also backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ.
Salmon also received approval in January to acquire a controlling stake in Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna). The regulatory approval was issued by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines.
On the other hand, ECPay, established over two decades ago, continues to be a pivotal player in the Philippines’ electronic payments industry, providing a one-stop-shop for both offline and online payment solutions, ensuring secure and timely transactions for customers and real-time reconciliation for merchants.