BillEase has closed an up to $20 million debt facility arranged by Helicap Securities. This brings the total raised to $55 million in debt and equity.

Launched in 2017, BillEase is a consumer finance app currently accepted as a payment method by more than 1,000 major brands and small businesses and offered by seven major payment gateways in the Philippines. Shoppers at Giordano and Havaianas at SM City Baguio in Baguio City, Philippines may use the BillEase app.

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Based in Singapore, Helicap Securities is a financial technology company providing private debt investment opportunities for accredited and institutional investors. The company’s chief executive director Zhiwei Tan said, “We are excited to support BillEase’s growth with this debt facility.”

“We are impressed by the company’s growth over the past three years and its mission to further financial inclusion in the Philippines,” Tan continued. “The rising acceptance of digital payments is changing the landscape of consumer lending and we are seeing BillEase as one of the few companies that can leverage and scale with the use of their AI-driven credit engine which allows them to offer consumer-centric, responsible financial products and highly personalized digital experience.”

Earlier this year, BillEase raised $11 million in a Series B round led by BurdaPrincipal Investments, the growth capital arm of German media and tech company Hubert Burda Media. Centauri, a joint investment vehicle of MDI Ventures and KB Investment, Raisin DS CEO Tamaz Georgadze and 33 Capital also joined the round.

Among the financial services provided by BillEase are personal loans, e-wallet top-ups, prepaid load and gaming credits as well as buy now, pay later (BNPL), which allows customers to pay for their purchases online and offline in interest-free or interest-bearing installment plans. In March 2022, it raised $20 million in secured debt from the United Kingdom-based Lendable to further accelerate the growth of its lending products. 

“We are delighted to have secured a new facility which will further grow and expand our loan portfolio, demonstrating the confidence private investors have in our sustained growth trajectory and profitability,” BillEase co-founder and CEO Georg Steiger said. “Being able to collateralize our loan book allows us to access funding to continue serving our fast-growing, underserved customer base.”

Since 2021, BillEase has been profitable and its impressive growth is attributable to its proprietary AI-driven underwriting process allowing it to automate loan approvals in under 5 minutes and keep processes and risk costs low. It has launched its in-store QR payment to tap into payment transactions that usually happen offline as well as payment links which are now highly used in social commerce, allowing the company to offer an omnichannel shopping and payment experience for both customers and its merchants.

“Our new funding comes at the right time as we develop and launch new products and continue to see strong growth”, Steiger said. “At the same time maintaining profitability means we can be a sustainable and long-term partner for consumers and merchants.”