Paywatch expands into Indonesia, Philippines

Paywatch, an enterprise earned wage access (EWA) solution provider, has expanded into Indonesia and the Philippines, supported by a partnership with Visa to drive greater financial literacy and access to safe money transfer services.

The company says the move makes it the largest EWA provider in Southeast Asia. Aside from the two markets, Paywatch also operates in South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. It also plans to expand into Thailand and Vietnam.

Paywatch now serves more than 300 employers and 500,000 employees across the region, processing over US$4 million a month in earned wage access in the past year.

“While everyone has been affected by challenging macroeconomic forces, frontline workers are particularly vulnerable to these challenging conditions. By providing them access to earned wages, we’re giving them the ability to better manage their finances – leading to better mental and financial health,” says Richard Kim, co-founder and chief executive officer of Paywatch.

The partnership with Visa strengthens the company’s network of banking and payment partners in the region. Paywatch says it is to date the only multi-country bank-backed EWA service provider, supported by banks such as Hong Leong Bank, OCBC and UOB. The start-up has also received funding from the Vanderbilt University endowment.