- Together with credit facilities from global banks, startup has over US$50mil in capital
- Will evolve into next-gen employee benefit platform, focused on equitable solutions across SEA
Paywatch, a leading Southeast Asian employee benefit platform and Earned Wage Access (EWA) service provider, has completed its Series A funding bringing the final amount to US$20 million (RM83.65 million) with Malaysian venture firm, Artem Ventures, which made the investment out of their FWD Group-backed TIM Ventures Fund, and Kakao Pay, South Korea’s largest mobile payments and digital wallet platform joining earlier investors. As part of the partnership, Paywatch and Kakao Pay will develop enterprise solutions for companies in Southeast Asia and South Korea.
The first close of the Series A funding was announced in June 2024 and included credit secured from banks with no breakdown of each portion. Those investors were led by New York-based VC, Third Prime, and a consortium of US investors including Vanderbilt University and the University of Illinois Foundation endowment funds. Combined with its credit facilities secured from global banks, Paywatch has now raised over US$50 million (RM209.13 million) to date indicating that it has raised over US$30 million in credit facilities.
[RM1 = US$0.24]
Read also: Malaysia headquartered Paywatch secures US$30mil funding in largest raise for Earned Wage Access startup in SEA
“We’re excited to welcome both Kakao Pay and Artem Ventures into the Paywatch family,” said Alex Kim, the American born Korean co-founder and President of Paywatch who launched the company in South Korea in 2020 with his brother, Richard Kim, before relocating the headquarters to Malaysia in 2022.
Paywatch operates in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong and claims to have processed more than US$200 million in EWA transactions throughout its markets.
“These strategic investors bring not just capital, but deep ecosystem synergies and experience across insurance, payments, and financial technology that will accelerate Paywatch’s growth as a comprehensive financial wellness solution provider across Southeast Asia,” said Kim.
“Paywatch not only delivers tangible social impact but has also proven its ability to scale rapidly across multiple markets in Asia. This is a rare example of a Malaysian fintech that combines meaningful financial inclusion with the operational and technological strength to serve top-tier clients,” said Zhen Hui, Managing Partner of Artem Ventures.
The investment is expected to accelerate Paywatch’s growth into a next-generation multi-product fintech platform further strengthening its suite of comprehensive employee benefits solutions and core competencies, including its equitable Earned Wage Access (EWA) solution, insurance marketplace, cross-border remittance, global payments, and rewards.
Paywatch, which claims to be Asia’s largest provider of EWA, has pioneered the responsible EWA movement with multi-lateral organisations like the International Labour Organization and UNCDF. The company’s flagship EWA service allows employees to access their earned wages in real time, at the lowest equitable prices, improving financial wellbeing while supporting employers with powerful retention and productivity tools.
“Financial stability is a fundamental right,” Kim said. “We are on a mission to build an equitable system where every worker can access secure, equitably priced financial services. For these workers, this level of financial freedom and inclusion should not be seen as a privilege, but as standard.”
