Payd recently raised USD 1.7 million (RM7.5 million) in a seed funding round expected to expand its Southeast Asian operations and fuelling the growth of the region's financial tech market. The round was led by IFS Capital, with participation from 1982 Ventures, The Hive Southeast Asia, a recipient of the Dana Penjana Nasional programme, Delight Capital, and Antler.
It will be deploying its funds towards brand building, team expansion to accelerate product development, as well as launching more innovative products and services in the coming months. High net worth angel investors also participated in the funding round.
"This funding exercise is a watershed moment for Payd. We are grateful for our partners' trust and confidence as we continue to build and launch Payd,” said Payd co-founder and CEO Justin Kong, commenting on the funding. “In the long run, we hope to be a platform that eases the financial worries of the Malaysian workforce, helping build a better engagement between employers and employees."
Founded in 2020, the financial wellbeing platform is on a mission to build the largest mobile financial wellbeing platform for employees, all over Southeast Asia. Employers can now seamlessly offer their employees the freedom to choose when to receive the money that they have earned, thus increasing engagement in the workplace, ultimately resulting in higher retention rates and improved financial literacy.
Utilising a framework that is easily integrated with any organisation's Human Resource (HR) and payroll system, employees will now be able to access up to 50% of their income whenever they need it. Companies that are currently partnering with Payd include, Zecon, myTukar and Tropicana.
Payd looks to change and disrupt the salary market for the better, bringing stately solutions to financially stressed Malaysian employees and employers. On-demand, quick and easy, the B2B platform gives employees the freedom to view their earnings and choose when to get paid, without having to wait for payday.
"The access to earned wage has become increasingly trendy across a number of industries,” said Darvesh Daswani, co-founder of Payd. :Among the many factors driving this growth includes the lowering of household incomes and the rise of inflation. The recent pandemic only amplified the need for financial freedom.”
To date, Payd has garnered over 20,000 employee sign ups, and has witnessed an increase in enrollment rates of up to 25%. This mirrors the consistent success of the brand since its inception, Payd has been experiencing a growth of 120 to 180% month-on-month since July 2021, as more Malaysian businesses are now choosing to provide EWA benefits to their employees.