Earned wage access (EWA) service provider Paywatch has raised US$ 5.25 million in a seed funding round led by US venture capital firm Third Prime and prominent family offices in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Operating in South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong, the company plans to use the fresh funds to further grow its presence in existing markets, as well as accelerate expansion efforts into new Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia and the Philippines.

With this seed financing, Third Prime is now a new partner at Paywatch. SparkLabs, Won & Partners and CTK Investments also participated in this round.

Paywatch is an EWA service provider that has integrated with five established financial institutions across Asia to provide workers access to their earned wages, in real-time, before pay day.

The company is part of the regulatory sandbox of the Financial Services Commission in South Korea and currently works with over 50 companies in the country.

In Malaysia, Paywatch has been recognised by the UN Capital Development Fund, Bank Negara Malaysia and MDEC for its financial inclusion initiatives.

“A predictable and healthy financial lifestyle plays a big role in ensuring workers’ happiness and mental health, but achieving it is only possible when workers can deal with unexpected financial burdens.

 

Paywatch aims to promote financial inclusion by helping workers achieve financial security and gain financial access to major banks. For companies, our flexible payroll system has made them more competitive in attracting talent and increased retention in the face of the ‘great resignation’,”

said Richard Kim, Founder and CEO at Paywatch.

“The team at Third Prime has an exemplary record of actively helping emerging fintech companies to scale and drive value for end-users.

 

We are excited to leverage their experience and expertise at this time of rapid growth for Paywatch.”

said Alex Kim, Co-founder and President.