Harrison White
Phnom Penh-based payment aggregator, Clik Payment, recently announced that it had failed to secure financing, necessary for its commercial launch. Having been granted a Payment Service Provider license in January 2022, the firm now plans to explore strategic alternatives in jeopardy to repay creditors.
Clik Payment initially made its foray into the market in 2016, following a successful Seed round funding that raised a record-breaking $3.9 million for Southeast Asia’s mobile payments, loyalty programs, data visualization, business intelligence, and cloud data services.
Read more: Clik Payment seeks new investment after receiving regulatory approval
Unfortunately, the firm’s launch was severely delayed due to delays in getting their PSP license, which they eventually got. This, in conjunction with the COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2021, disrupted the company’s anticipated funding and commercial launch.
Initial delay as well as jurisdictional concerns major obstacles
In a recent LinkedIn post, Clik Payment expressed regret, stating, “Despite our efforts, we have not succeeded in raising the requisite funding to launch operations in Cambodia.”
Matthew Tippetts, Clik Payment’s CEO, discussed the firm’s financial predicament with the Cambodia Investment Review. Tippetts cited the initial delay as well as jurisdictional concerns as major obstacles in securing further financing, despite considerable efforts domestically and internationally.
Tippetts further noted the company’s focus on settling payments to staff and creditors, the amount of which remains undisclosed. One of the strategic alternatives is to launch the Clik platform in other markets such as in Europe, which is why he is spending most of his time there.
Back in April 2022, Tippetts had confidently discussed the firm’s final licensing requirement: a $2 million deposit into their NBC account. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made raising funds exceedingly challenging, resulting in significant delays.
Yet, with their platform built and partners’ support, they managed to complete the requirement and secured their license by January 2022. Despite the uphill battle, Tippetts remained hopeful, stating, “We have hopefully been through the worst of the difficulties most independent startups face.”
Unfortunately, these delays have resulted in severe financial constraints for the company, which is now looking for bridge financing to facilitate its commercial launch and begin settling its debts.
Ongoing discussions with investors and strategic partnerships
Clik Payment’s management revealed the company’s plans at the time to raise $1-2 million in bridge financing, along with an additional $3-4 million round, to ensure Clik’s financial needs in Cambodia are met until operations turn cash-flow positive.
Management expressed optimism about the firm’s prospects, thanks to ongoing discussions with investors and strategic partnerships in the pipeline, including a software development company. Today’s use of eKYC and Tap-to-Phone / mPOS solutions are driving successful innovation in Cambodia’s financial sector, which would have been pioneered by Clik should they have launched on-time in 2021.
Among Clik Payment’s early investors were Openway, a global leading digital banking and software vendor, and Poems Pte Ltd, the investment arm of Singapore financial house Phillip Capital Pte Ltd. The company also acknowledged several global angel investors, a third of which are based in Cambodia.
Clik Payment’s situation serves as a reminder of the unique challenges and uncertainties startups face, 90% of them do disappear, especially in volatile times and risk-averse business environments.
