FinTech Firm MC Payment Raises S$6M (US$4.5M) in Series B Round

Singapore, 25 August 2016 — MC Payment, a financial technology and business solutions provider based in Singapore, has raised S$6 million (US$4.5 million) in a Series B round. The funds will be used to drive market expansion into Australia and in Southeast Asia, as well as enhance its key product offerings, including ‘Xaavan’, its B2B supply chain and e-invoicing platform for merchants and suppliers.

The investment was led by ESW Manage, an Asia-focused private equity firm along with private investment firm, DZW Capital. Other investors include Golden Equator Capital, a private equity and venture capital firm based in Singapore.

Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of MC Payment, Anthony Koh, said, “Businesses today are operating across countries, with consumers using a variety of non-cash payment options. We see an urgent need for platforms that can process a multitude of payment methods; something we have deep experience in. This funding will help us to address that demand by accelerating development of end-to-end payments solutions across industries in the region.”

A key investment priority is ‘Xaavan’, MC Payment’s web-enabled B2B supply chain payment and e-invoicing platform; it is the first MasterCard-certified Level 3 enhanced data processing solution in Asia.

MC Payment also offers payment technology and transaction processing solutions under the product name of ‘MC Payment’. The solution is being used by a number of charities to process online donations, and is being rolled out by e-commerce giant Qoo10. MC Payment is also developing a non-cash payment solution for Singapore’s first vending machine café, Chef in Box VendCafé.

The company also offers a mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution, ‘ffastpay’, used by retailers and merchants, including insurers and telecommunication firms in Hong Kong and Malaysia, to support consumer payments on-the-go. The company also has ‘MatchCab’, a platform built for taxi transport providers that seamlessly integrates into existing booking systems.

MC Payment is looking to capitalise on the strong e-commerce growth in Southeast Asia by expanding into Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines, as well as entering into the Australian market. It currently operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

The company is focused on supporting non-cash payments for clients across a variety of industries, including non-profits, insurance, e-commerce and financial institutions. It is able to provide seamless support for multiple payment methods with brand-agnostic solutions that retailers actually need. This is done through technological certification and partnerships with leading payments schemes from around the world, including global card associations such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express, as well as domestic payment networks across Asia, such as NETS in Singapore and MEPS in Malaysia.

Wong Yat Foo, Founder and Chairman at ESW manage, said, “We are leading the investment round as we are most impressed with the founders’ track record of creating niche technology products in a market with high barriers to entry, while solving complex customer problems. With the endorsement and approval of their technology by big players like Visa, MasterCard and many more, the company has huge potential to serve many more merchants and banks and grow their transaction business.”

Daren Tan, Managing Partner at Golden Equator Capital, commented, “MC Payment solves complex payments issues by building a unified payments platform. With growing adoption of new technologies, digital payments has become an integral part of any business. Anthony and team have demonstrated great foresight to meet these market demands within Southeast Asia and beyond.”

Consumers now have access to a rising number of payment options, ranging from mobile wallets, to credit cards and domestic payment methods. According to IDC Financial Insights, consumers across Asia are quick to adopt multiple payment choices for both offline and online transactions[1], demonstrated by the increasing use of digital wallets – from 9.7 per cent in 2013 to 19.5 per cent in 2015[2]. Complementing this growth is a simultaneous increase in cross-border e-commerce transactions in the region, with online sales in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam estimated to grow by up to 25 per cent annually from 2013[3].

“Internet penetration, global consumer activities and adoption of electronic payment methods has increased by leaps and bounds; Southeast Asia presents a great opportunity in the payments space. This is where we come in – to provide specialised financial technology services that support the complex and growing payment needs within the region,” added Koh.

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