PayJoy has closed $6M of new investment with strategic partners who will help PayJoy phone financing further expand internationally throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa.  The investment was led by Santander InnoVentures, the fintech venture capital fund of Santander Group, and ITOCHU Corporation, one of the largest Japanese general trading companies in Asia.  Other strategic partners joined from Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, China, Vietnam, and Europe.  This investment brings PayJoy’s total equity and debt financing to $30M since its founding in 2015.

Manuel Silva, Head of Investments, Santander InnoVentures said: “Investing in PayJoy shows Santander InnoVentures’s constant search for great teams pushing the boundaries of fintech. It also shows our increasing interest in models that are relevant to emerging markets and the underbanked.”  He added, “PayJoy’s mission is to help the less privileged join the digital economy and climb the economic ladder.  PayJoy rethinks a basic financial service through the lens of innovation, technology, and data, and brings a simple and fair new offering to those who need it the most. We are impressed by PayJoy’s passion and vision and are thrilled to support them in their next chapter.”

PayJoy CEO Doug Ricket was inspired by the challenge facing half of the world’s population who lack access to credit and cannot afford a smartphone.  Ricket reflects on the company’s new partnerships:  “PayJoy’s approach is to partner with the major players in the mobile industry to achieve scale.  These strategic investors have offered to introduce PayJoy through their long-standing deep regional business networks, which I believe will be tremendously beneficial in accelerating our business partnerships and getting millions of customers onto smartphones in 2018.”