BillEase raises $20M to expand loan portfolio

BILLEASE has raised an additional $20 million through a funding round to further expand its loan portfolio, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The debt facility was granted by Singapore-headquartered Helicap Securities, a financial technology (fintech) company that provides private debt investment opportunities for accredited and institutional investors.

“We are delighted to have secured a new facility which will further grow and expand our loan portfolio, demonstrating the confidence private investors have in our sustained growth trajectory and profitability,” BillEase Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Georg Steiger said.

“Being able to collateralize our loan book allows us to access funding to continue serving our fast-growing, underserved customer base,” Mr. Steiger said. “Our new funding comes at the right time as we develop and launch new products and continue to see strong growth. At the same time maintaining profitability means we can be a sustainable and long-term partner for consumers and merchants.”

This brings the total funding secured this year by the buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform to $55 million in debt and equity as it aims to accelerate the growth of its products.

In January, BillEase raised $11 million through Series B equity, with participants including BurdaPrincipal Investments, MDI Ventures, and KB Investment, among others. In March, it secured $20 million from UK-based Lendable, an emerging market credit facility.

“We are excited to support BillEase’s growth with this debt facility. We are impressed by the company’s growth over the past three years and its mission to further financial inclusion in the Philippines,” Helicap Securities Executive Director Zhiwei Tan said.

“The rising acceptance of digital payments is changing the landscape of consumer lending and we are seeing BillEase as one of the few companies that can leverage and scale with the use of their AI-driven credit engine which allows them to offer consumercentric, responsible financial products and highly personalized digital experience,” Mr. Tan said.

BillEase said it is well positioned to expand its financial services further in a market where low-cost loans are mostly inaccessible.

“The Philippines is among the emerging markets with low credit card penetration but has a tech-savvy and digitally-forward population, creating more growth opportunities and capturing a largely underserved market for the company,” it said.

The volume of transactions done on BillEase climbed by nearly five times in the first half of the year from the same period in 2021, the company said. It has disbursed over 3 million in loans so far.

BillEase is a credit and finance platform that allows clients to pay for their purchases both online and offline through installment plans. It launched its in-store QR payment service this year.

The company has been profitable since 2021, which it attributed to its AI-driven underwriting process that allows it to automate loan approvals and keep costs low.

BillEase is currently accepted as a payment method by over 1,000 brands and small businesses and is offered by seven major payment gateways in the Philippines. —