Financial wellbeing platform Payd raises $1.7m seed funding

Malaysian financial wellbeing platform Payd announced that it has raised $1.7 million in a seed funding round to expand its Southeast Asian operations, fuelling the growth of the region’s financial tech market.

The round was led by IFS Capital, with participation from 1982 Ventures and The Hive Southeast Asia. A recipient of the Dana Penjana Nasional programme, Payd is on a mission to build the largest mobile financial wellbeing platform for employees all over Southeast Asia.

Towards this end, it will be deploying its funds towards brand building, team expansion to accelerate product development, as well as to launch more innovative products and services in the coming months. High net worth angel investors also participated in the funding round.

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.

“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. 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,” said Payd co-founder and CEO Justin Kong.

Founded in 2020, Payd is a rising comprehensive earned wage access (EWA) solution provider. Through this B2B2C platform, 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.

With Payd, employees can access up to 50% of their income whenever they need it. Anyone with a smartphone can have access to short term financing whenever they are in need of it. Its future roadmap includes savings products and financial literacy tools.