Parallax, a US-based but Philippine-focused cross-border payment startup, has announced raising $4.5 million in a seed funding round, paving the way for the official launch of its platform.
The round was anchored by Dragonfly Capital, a crypto-centred investment firm, with participation from a host of investors, including Circle Ventures, General Catalyst, gumi Cryptos Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Comma Capital, and Firsthand Alliance.
Founded last year by Mika Reyes (CEO) and Alex Kuang, Parallax is a platform that enables freelancers and remote workers to accept near-instant international payments at cheaper rates.
Parallax is initially targeting users from the Philippines.
“Our inception story began in the Philippines, a market we know well, have a unique advantage in and with a growing demand of global financial services given the rise of remote work, freelancers and the gig economy,” Reyes said.
The Philippines has the highest year-on-year growth rate for remote work revenue at 208% and is the 5th top freelancing country, according to Payoneer.
Parallax’s initial product allows users who are outside of the US to open a USD virtual account to receive USD with just their passport. The startup said it can support and onboard individuals from more than 150 countries.
It recently introduced the ability to convert USD into local currencies, starting with a few select countries and rolling out to more currencies soon.
For example, in the Philippines, users can cash out their USD into their local bank accounts like BPI, UnionBank, BDO and more, or e-wallets like GCash or Paymaya, and have the pesos arrive in minutes.
The product is comparable to Paypal, Payoneer, and Wise, and differentiates on providing faster and lesser fee transactions as it leverages modern technologies, Parallax said.
The startup said it will use the fresh funds to continue to grow the team and scale its operations.
Parallax’s funding and official launch comes as personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos posted a new record high of $3.49 billion in December 2022, up by 5.7% from the $3.3 billion recorded in December 2021, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.