Silicon Valley funder invests in first Pinoy fintech startup

MANILA, Philippines — PayMongo, a technology startup that aims to simplify and modernize online payments in the Philippines, became the first Filipino fintech (financial technology) company to be funded by Y Combinator (YC), the most prestigious Silicon Valley based technology accelerator in the world.

PayMongo joins the ranks of companies like Airbnb, Dropbox and Reddit that were funded early by YC and eventually became unicorns or billion-dollar companies.

PayMongo enables Filipino businesses and entrepreneurs to accept online payments through multiple payment channels in just a matter of minutes.  Through PayMongo, sellers on Facebook and Instagram can now provide shareable links to buyers, choose a mode of payment and easily complete a sale in few simple steps. 

For sellers with websites, but without a payment platform, PayMongo provides a few lines of code that developers can integrate into their websites.

The startup was founded three months ago by four co-founders: Francis Plaza, Jaime Hing, Luis Sia and Edwin Lacierda. The four Filipino founders came from diverse backgrounds. Francis and Jaime both have years of combined experience in designing and building software.