Philippines-based mobile payment and credit service Mynt has seen its valuation soar to $5 billion after Japan's MUFG and local investor Ayala each pumped $393 million into the GCash wallet operator.
MUFG has acquired an eight per cent stake in Mynt, while Ayala's investment increases its ownerships from five per cent to 13%. The deals more than double Mynt's valuation from its last funding round in 2021.
A subsidiary of Globe Telecom, Mynt has acquired more than 90 million users for its GCash super-app, which lets people purchase prepaid airtime; pay bills; send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines; purchase from millions of merchants and social sellers; and get access to savings, credit, insurance and investments.
Globe Telecom CEO Ernest Cu has previously said that GCash may go public in the Philippines in 2025.
Japan's MUFG has recently made a host of investments in Asia Pacific fintechs targeting the region's underbanked, including Thai super-app Ascend Money, Singapore's Grab and Indonesia's Akulaku.
Yasushi Itagaki, head of global commercial banking business group, MUFG, says: "GCash is an indispensable infrastructure for everyday life of Filipinos and we are delighted to join Mynt as a strategic investor to support the growth of the company.
"With our investment, we are excited to expand our contribution to the ongoing development of the Philippines’ digital economy and financial inclusion."