Philippines-based neobank Tonik has bagged a $131 million Series B deal which was led by Mizuho Bank. The digital neobank has raised funds majorly for expanding its service across Asia. Tonik Financial Pte Ltd commonly referred to as Tonik, the parent company of Tonik Digital Bank said that the funding was led by Mizuho Bank – a Top 10 bank (by assets) in the APAC region and also one of the largest banking groups in Japan.

Other contributors to the latest funding round included significant investors like Prosus Ventures (earlier known as Naspers Ventures), Sixteenth Street Capital (a Singapore-based investment fund), Nuri Group (an Indonesian family office), and Mr Rahul Mehta (co-founder of DST Partners).

More about Tonik’s Series B funding round

The Series B funding round also received repeat interest from prior investors like Point72 Ventures, Sequoia India, iGlobe, Insignia, Alpha JWC, Kraft, Citius, and Blauwpark. The funding will be used for accelerating Tonik’s growth in the Philippines.

On raising funds, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tonik, Greg Krasnow said that they’re excited to partner with Mizuho, as the partnership will provide the neobank with enhanced access to the global wholesale funding markets as well as world-class managerial talent. It will also serve as a great platform for Tonik’s future global expansion plans. All of this together will solidify the company’s market position to drive financial inclusion in Southeast Asia.

Daisuke Horiuchi (Managing Executive Officer, Retail Business Company, Mizuho) said that the track record of Tonik so far has validated the existence of great demand for neo banking and digital banking services in the Philippines – where over 70% of the population remains unbanked.

“As the first mover and market leader, Tonik is well-positioned to grow into one of the largest banks in the Philippines, as well as enter other Southeast Asian markets. We are keen to support Tonik’s world-class management in their vision to increase financial inclusion in the region,” Horiuchi added.

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About Tonik – a leading neobank

Founded by Greg Krasnov, Tonik was launched in 2021. It is the first private bank in the Philippines market to enter digital banking through a subsidiary – Tonik Digital Bank. Just within 6 months of its opening, Tonik had over 100,000 accounts.

By investing in Tonik, Mizuho aims to tap into growth in the Philippines (especially into personal loans). Mizuho also wants to consider sending people to develop its expertise in the digitization of financial services.

Based on its certain estimates, Philippines-based Tonik claims that the Philippines represents a whopping $140 billion retail savings market as well as a $100 billion unsecured consumer lending opportunity.

Apart from Tonik, some other digital banks that were granted licenses by the BSP are UnionBank’s UnionDigital, Landbank’s OF Bank, PayMaya’s Maya Bank, UnoBank and Gokongwei’s GOTyme. As of now, the central bank decided to pause granting digital licenses to assess its impact on the overall financial system.

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