Tonik Financial Pte Ltd (“Tonik”), the parent company of Tonik Digital Bank in the Philippines, announced that it closed a US$131M round of Series B equity funding. The round was led by Mizuho Bank, which is one of the largest Japanese banking groups and a Top 10 bank by assets in Asia Pacific region, active in the Philippines since 1981. Other significant new investors in the round included Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures), the co-founder of DST Partners Rahul Mehta, as well as a Singapore investment fund Sixteenth Street Capital and Indonesian family office Nuri Group.
The round also featured strong repeat participation from previous VC investors Sequoia India, Point72 Ventures, Insignia, iGlobe, Alpha JWC, Citius, Blauwpark, and Kraft. Tonik will use the Series B funding to accelerate the growth of its digital bank in the Philippines.
Launched in March 2021, Tonik has set new bank growth records in the Philippines by reaching US$20M and US$100M of consumer deposits within the first and eighth months of operation respectively, thus achieving the status of one of the fastest growing neobanks globally. It is now focused on rolling out a broad range of innovative all-digital consumer lending products focused on the financial inclusion clients, as well as expanding the value proposition of its Tonik Account offering. Tonik operates on the basis of the first private digital bank license granted by the banking regulator in the Philippines.
In the company’s estimates, Philippines represents a US$140 billion retail savings market, and a US$100 billion unsecured consumer lending opportunity. Tonik is led by Founder & CEO Greg Krasnov, who had previously co-founded multiple other successful fintech companies in Asia, as well as founded and built a leading consumer finance bank in Emerging Europe.
Greg Krasnov, Founder & CEO of Tonik, said: “We are very excited to partner with Mizuho, one of the Top 10 banking groups in the Asia-Pacific region. The partnership with Mizuho will provide Tonik with enhanced access to the international wholesale funding markets and world-class managerial talent, as well as serve as a fantastic platform for our future international expansion. All of this will help solidify our market leadership position in driving financial inclusion in Southeast Asia.”
Daisuke Horiuchi, Managing Executive Officer at Mizuho’s Retail Business Company, said: “Tonik’s unique track record so far validates the existence of massive demand for 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.”
