Mynt, the parent of e-wallet major GCash in the Philippines, has acquired ECPay for $40 million, while crypto exchange Coinbase secured full licence in Singapore.
GCash parent Mynt buys ECPay for $40m
Mynt, the parent company of Philippine e-wallet major GCash, is acquiring payments firm Electronic Commerce Payments Inc (ECPay) for about $40 million.
Mynt will acquire the 77% stake of Globe Telecom, its parent company, and the rest of the shares from minority stakeholder Payment One Inc, making it a full acquisition transaction.
Globe acquired ECPay in 2019 to enhance its distribution network. ECPay enables merchant partners to process bill payments, electronic prepaid mobile phone top-ups, e-pins, e-wallet and cash card reloading, and credit card payments, among others.
The deal is currently undergoing thorough reviews and completion is expected upon receipt of approvals from the relevant regulatory bodies and satisfaction of closing conditions.
Mynt became the country’s first tech unicorn in 2021 after raising over $300 million in a funding round that valued the company at over $2 billion. As of May 2023, GCash has over 81 million active users in the Philippines.
Crypto exchange Coinbase gets full Singapore licence
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, announced that it has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing it to offer more services in the city-state.
The granting of the MPI licence comes almost a year after Coinbase received in-principle approval from the central bank, which enabled it to offer regulated digital payment token products and services in the island nation.
Coinbase considers Singapore as a vital market. About 25% of Singaporeans also think crypto is the future of finance and 32% are either current or past owners of crypto. Coinbase said Singapore has naturally become a significant location for the industry.
“From our initial involvement in the Lion City, we’ve identified Singapore as a vital market for Coinbase. The nation’s progressive economic strategies and approach to regulation sync well with our global mission and objectives,” Coinbase added.
