Fintech start-up Salmon has launched a point-of-sale (POS) loan product in the Philippines. The start-up has placed a specific focus on supporting the underbanked and the unbanked in the region.
Salmon aims to enable citizens in the Philippines to defer their payment for purchases across a number of months. The introduction of the product ensures people can shop for home products regardless of their ability of access traditional banking products.
Salmon now has over 30 major outlet merchant partners. Partners are still able to receive all of the proceeds for their sales upfront. The partnership also enables merchants to use Salmon’s dedicated portal which supports them in monitoring and managing their sales.
October 2022 saw the company announce a successful $16million Series A funding round. The funding raised was intended to progress its operational build-up and the acquisition of a bank in the Philippines. Ultimately, the investment looked to ensure the launch of their services, one of which is now available.
The end of November also saw Salmon announce that it had secured its first retail partner ZeHelmet. The motorbike helmet store became the first merchant to offer the services of Salmon’s lending product to consumers.
‘The opportunity of greater financial inclusion’
Raffy Montemayor, co-founder of Salmon, commented on the launch. He said: “We strive to make financial services and consumer lending simple and enjoyable. Salmon allows shoppers to buy products they need with the flexibility of paying in instalments thus avoiding the complicated process of applying for a credit card or going to often extraordinarily expensive payday lenders.
“This makes a lot of sense to millennials and GenZ consumers. They do not have the time or patience to go through all the intricacies of obtaining and using credit cards and other products of the legacy financial industry. During the first months of operation, we have already seen a large increase in applications to several thousand clients, which shows a high demand for such financial products.
“This is our first but very important step towards creating an outstanding financial institution that consumers in the Philippines and South-East Asia in general, deserve. Solving the problem of lending first will enable us to deliver various other kinds of user-friendly financial products from savings to payments, giving our customers the opportunity of greater financial inclusion. This is our goal for the coming year.”
