<article>Philippines-based payment solutions provider <a href="www.dragonpay.ph" target="_blank">Dragonpay</a> has raised Series A funding from Japan&#8217;s e-payment titan <a href="http://www.gmo-vp.com/en/" target="_blank">GMO</a> Global Payment Fund (GMO).</article>

Philippines-based payment solutions provider <a href="www.dragonpay.ph" target="_blank">Dragonpay</a> has raised Series A funding from Japan&#8217;s e-payment titan <a href="http://www.gmo-vp.com/en/" target="_blank">GMO</a> Global Payment Fund (GMO).
The investment amount has not been disclosed.
Dragonpay plans to use the newly raised funds to promote e-commerce in the country, while venturing into new payment channels, specifically on the mobile. These strategies are meant to accelerate the growth of the company that has been in the online payment business since 2010, the firm said.
Ryu Muramatsu, director and founding partner of GMO Venture Partners Inc, said they were eager to support and also learn from the developing e-commerce market in the Philippines.
&#8220;I love this huge but growing and unbanked market with 100 million people. What Dragonpay is provides is not just an e-commerce online payment; it is providing the &#8216;Life payment&#8217; itself. In Philippines, 80% of total population don’t possess a bank account and these people need to pay and buy everything offline,&#8221; Muramatsu said.
Aside from Dragonpay, other regional investments by GMO Global Payment Fund include online payment companies <a href="http://www.2c2p.com/" target="_blank">2C2P </a>of Thailand, <a href="http://codapay.net/" target="_blank">Coda Payment</a> and <a href="http://www.reddotpayment.com/" target="_blank">Red Dot</a> Payment of Singapore.
Earlier this year, it had invested an undisclosed amount into 2C2P, a Bangkok-based online payment processing company, after its sister firm GMO Payment Gateway, had invested $500,000 in the same Thai firm last year.
According to Dragonpay&#8217;s co-founder and COO Robertson Chiang (who is also its CTO),  for the growth of commerce in a developing country like the Philippines, the payment options would have to be more accessible to the masses as credit card and the banking services penetration were too.
&#8220;There are currently over 10,000 physical payment channel partners that accept over-the-counter cash payments for Dragonpay. These include, groceries, remittance centers, supermarkets, pawnshops, gas stations and business service centers,&#8221; Chiang said. &#8220;With 10 million Filipinos working overseas and an estimated annual $25 billion remittances coming in, Dragonpay is continually looking at expanding its payment network to reach out to these customers abroad,&#8221; he added.
As per its website, &#8220;Dragonpay is an alternative online payment solution that uses online and offline banking facilities, and other non-traditional brick-and-mortar outlets, to accept payments from a broader market base in a more secure and cost-effective manner.&#8221;
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Dragonpay raises Series A funding from GMO

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Dragonpay raises Series A funding from GMO

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