Today, Thai fintech firm SYNQA announced it raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Siam Commercial Bank unit SCB 10X and investment management company SPARX Group. SYNQA is the company behind the payment solutions Omise, and the blockchain-based OMG Network, formerly called OmiseGO.
Other big names who participated in the funding round included Toyota Financial Services Corporation (TFS), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), SMBC Venture Capital (SMBCVC) and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Corporation (ADI).
“This funding will accelerate the development of quality products and services by our subsidiaries to better connect people, businesses and society,” said Jun Hasegawa, founder, and CEO of SYNQA.
Founded in 2015 as Omise Holdings, SYNQA is working on making a shift to digital payments from cash, especially amid the COVID-19 social distancing norms.
SYNQA has been operating the Omise payments gateway solution for online sellers since 2013, unrelated to blockchain. The company said it would use the new funding to add more features and services to its online payments and settlement solutions. It also anticipates forming a new fintech subsidiary, details of which were not divulged.
Meanwhile, the company established the OMG Network in 2017. It provides a layer two scaling solution for Ethereum, otherwise known as sidechains, which improve performance. It offers solutions for payments, loyalty points, and other financial applications.
The OMG Network previously raised $25 million from the ICO of its OMG cryptocurrency.
It also operated the Go Exchange for digital assets, but that was shuttered in January.
SYNQA is supporting the development of the Toyota Wallet App, which was launched by the Japanese automaker late last year. Synqa CEO Jun Hasegawa founded the Japanese blockchain development boutique BUIDL, which was acquired last year by digital asset platform Securitize. Earlier this year, BUIDL also worked with Toyota on a blockchain digital and vehicle identity solution.
Talking about the Series C investment, Arak Sutivong, CEO of SCB 10X said: “This strategic partnership further strengthens the relationship between our two organizations. We believe that together we will bring forward innovations and new services to help enterprises transform and thrive in the digital future.”
Thailand’s SCB is using RippleNet for cross-border payments.
