Neobank startup, Tonik Financial (tonik), announced on its website that is has raised US$21 million in a Series A financing round led by Sequoia India and Point72 Ventures. The round also saw considerable participation from Insignia Venture and Credence, who previously invested US$6 million back in February 2020.
Founded in 2018, the startup is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in Manila and Chennai. The digital bank services that tonik provides include deposit, loan, payment and card products.
Having been recently granted its own banking license by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) – Philippine’s central bank – tonik now has the approval to run its operations and looks to commercially launch in the Philippines by the third quarter of 2020.
tonik’s founder and CEO, Greg Krasnov, explains that the decision to launch in Philippines is supported by a sharp spike in demand for digital banking services given that “over 70% of the population remains unbanked,” and estimated figures that the Philippines represents a US$140 billion retail savings market and a US$100 billion unsecured consumer lending opportunity.
Commenting on the round, Pete Casella, Head of Fintech Investments at Point72 Ventures, shared that “We believe deeply in tonik’s vision for a digital bank that is underpinned by the customer protections inherent in being a government-approved bank, and also the flexibility of being a completely digital start up. This unique combination will enable tonik to provide truly innovative products to its customers while also capturing the benefit of bank economics.”
In a sharing with Tech in Asia, Krasnov commented that tonik looks to have a user base ranging in the millions within the next five years. According to Fintech News Singapore, other neobank in the Southeast Asian region that operates on a fully digital mode include UOB’s TMRW in Thailand, CIMB’s digital banking arm in Philippines, DBS’ Digibank in Indonesia, and TIMO Bank in Vietnam.
, announced on its website that is has raised US$21 million in a Series A financing round led by Sequoia India and Point72 Ventures. The round also saw considerable participation from Insignia Venture and Credence, who previously invested US$6 million back in February 2020.){kind=link}