Digital financial services provider Ayannah from the Philippines and payments firm Electronic Cash and Payment Solutions (ECAPS) headquartered in India have merged to form Singapore-based Ayannah Global.

The new company offers fintech solutions for payments, remittances, insurance and loans. These solutions are targeted for the underbanked segment within the growing middle class in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Its projected 10 million customers or more may access these solutions via mobile apps and Ayannah Global’s more than 60,000 retail touchpoints.

Spearheading Ayannah Global will be Ayannah former CEO Miguel Perez and former ECAPS CEO Praveen Suri. Perez and Suri will both assume the position of chief executive officers.

Ayannah, which was established in 2010, created an AI-based platform to introduce a range of products for the emerging middle class in the Philippines. Among these are payments, remittances, insurance and telemedicine.

Meanwhile, ECAPS offers services for domestic migrants and the unbanked in India in the form of domestic money transfers, utility bill payments, recharges and travel ticketing.

“Widespread smartphone usage across our target markets provides a ripe landscape for a financial inclusion revolution while the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for at-your-fingertips financial services,” said Suri.

The company recently launched Kaya in the Philippines. Kaya is a digital marketplace where middle-class customers, entrepreneurs, banks, lenders and insurers can connect. Versions of the platform will also be launched in India, Indonesia and Vietnam this year.

The inclusion of savings and investment products in its omnichannel open banking platform is also in the pipeline.

Appointed as chairman of the board of Ayannah Global is Singapore-based veteran banker Ray Ferguson who was CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in Taiwan, Indonesia, UAE, the Americas and Singapore, among others.

With reports from finews.asia and The Business Times

Espie Angelica A. de Leon