SeedIn Philippines – Let’s Help Finance Local SMEs
Do you want to help local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) fulfill their short-term financial needs while at the same time earn from your investment? If your answer is a resounding ‘Yes’, you’ve just come to the right place. In this post, I will share with you how you can do it by investing in SeedIn Philippines!
With just Php 1,000.00, you can start your investing journey in SeedIn Philippines. Yes, you’ve read it right. For only 1,000, you can invest and help an SME in the Philippines and at the same time earn from your investment. Earnings start at 5% per annum and payouts are given every month.
One feature that stands out in SeedIn Philippines is its auto-invest feature. You will just top up an amount to your wallet. When a project is opened, the app itself will invest your money. When all your money is invested, top up again and wait for a new project. This is very advantageous for busy people like you and me. Ready to know more about SeedIn Philippines? Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
A. What is SeedIn Philippines?
SeedIn Technology is a crowdfunding platform which was launched in Southeast Asia in 2014. It is a peer-to-peer lending platform based in Singapore that mainly focuses on supporting local small and medium enterprises. According to its website SeedIn is “South East Asia’s largest Business Financing Platform where local businesses seeking short-term financing connect with individuals and businesses seeking short-term investments.”
SeedIn has rebranded itself to BRDGE. When searching for SeedIn Singapore online, the first search result would be the website of BRDGE with the tagline ‘BRDGE – Take Your Business Further‘. The new brand better describes its role as the bridge between the SMEs and the investors.
SeedIn Philippines is the fifth expansion of SeedIn in Southeast Asia and is registered with SEC. The numbers below displayed in SeedIn’s website describe the success of the company in the Philippines.
- Funded to business = Php 762,258,000
- Funded Projects = 136
- Investor Earnings Php40,613,783
- Average Return = 6.12%
- Investors = 38,414
B. What is crowdfunding?
According to Investopedia, “crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture.”
In SeedIn Philippines, investors, who are individuals like you and me, contribute small amounts starting at Php 1,000.00 to finance the needs of a borrower or borrowers. These borrowers are local SMEs who needed funds for new projects or to augment current ones. Therefore, the crowdfunding platform – in this case, SeedIn Philippines – provide a venue for both lenders and borrowers to fulfill their goals.
C. How can you earn in SeedIn Philippines?
As this is a lending platform, you can receive interests from the investments you have made in the platform. These are fixed returns and guaranteed as these are already declared in the description of a project when opened to investors.
The interest gained is paid out every month. The earnings can be re-invested as these are reflected back in your wallet.
The average return per annum is 10% as stated in their website. This is the gross and tax and fees will still be deducted.
Disclaimer: This post should not be taken as investment advice. I just want to share my experience in SeedIn Philippines. Before investing, I meticulously researched before deciding to register and fund my account.
Any investment involves risk so it’s a must that you have enough emergency funds and savings. As they say, invest only an amount that you can afford to lose and always diversify. Lastly, research about SeedIn Philippines or any entity that what want to join.
D. Types of repayments in SeedIn Philippines
There are 2 types of repayments in SeedIn Philippines: Balloon and Equal repayments. When a project is opened for investment, it is already stated right away in the description if it is a balloon or equal repayment.
You may also see that when calculating the repayments, we have to consider the withholding tax and risk management fee.
1. Balloon
In balloon repayment, only the interest will be paid out to investors every month. On the last month, the principal will be paid out plus the interest gained for that month.
Let’s have this example:
- Investment Type = Balloon
- Investment = Php 5,000
- Tenure = 10 months
- Interest rate p.a. = 10%
- Deductions = Withholding tax (15%) + risk management (10%) = 25%. Note that the withholding tax stated in SeedIn’s calculator is 20% but in actual computation, it is 15%. Perhaps it is not just updated.
Interest rate per month:
= Interest rate p.a. ÷ 12
= 10% ÷ 12
= 0.833%
Interest for 10 months (tenure):
= Interest rate per month x 10
= 0.833% x 10
= 8.333%
Total earnings (Gross):
= Investment x interest for 10 months (tenure)
= 5,000.00 x 8.333%
= 416.65
Total earnings (Net):
= Total earnings (Gross) x (1 – Deductions)
= 416.65 x (1 – 0.25) Note: Converted deductions to decimal
= 416.65 x (0.75)
= 312.49
Earnings per month (Net):
= 31.25 (Rounded off)
To simplify, total earnings (net) per project:
= ((interest rate p.a. ÷ 12) x tenure) x investment x 0.75
= ((0.10 ÷ 12) x 10) x 5,000 x 0.75
To simplify also, earnings (net) per month
= ((interest rate p.a. ÷ 12) x investment x 0.75
= ((0.10 ÷ 12) x 5,000 x 0.75
Therefore, based on the above example, investors will receive the following payouts:
1st to 9th Month = Php 31.25 per month
10th month = Php 5,031.25
= principal + earnings for the 10th month
= 5,000 + 31.25
= 5,031.25
2. Equal
When an investment has an equal repayment type, the principal is equally divided based on tenure. This is paid out to investors every month plus the interest gained.
Let’s have this example:
- Investment Type = Equal
- Investment = Php 5,000
- Tenure = 8 months
- Interest rate p.a. = 11%
- Deductions = Withholding tax (15%) + risk management (10%) = 25%
Interest rate per month:
= Interest rate p.a. ÷ 12
= 11% ÷ 12
= 0.9166%
Interest for 8 months:
= Interest rate per month x 10
= 0.9166% x 8
= 7.333%
Total earnings (Gross):
= Investment x 7.333%
= 5,000.00 x 7.333%
= 366.65
Total earnings (Net):
= Total earnings (Gross) x (1 – Deductions)
= 366.65 x (1 – 0.25) Note: Converted deductions to decimal
= 275.00
Earnings per month (Net):
= 34.38 (Rounded off)
So how much is the monthly repayment?
= (Investment ÷ Tenure) + Earnings per month
= (5,000.00 ÷ 8) + 34.38
= 625 + 34.38
= Php 659.38
or simply:
= (Investment + Total earnings (net)) ÷ 8
= (5,000 + 275) ÷ 8
= 5,275 ÷ 8
= Php 659.38
If you want another detailed explanation and example on this, you may check this post: Flint Philippines.
E. Requirements for registration
To register in SeedIn Philippines, you need 2 valid IDs and 1 proof of address. The following are some of the IDs accepted by SeedIn. You may check their website for the complete list of IDs:
- Driver’s License
- Passport
- SSS Card
- GSIS E-Card
- NBI Clearance
- PRC ID
- Police Clearance
- Postal ID
- Voter’s ID
- Senior Citizen Card
- Barangay Certification
F. How to register in SeedIn Philippines
You’ve reach this far. So are you ready to help SMEs and at the same time earn? Below are the steps to register and get started:
Click this link to open the registration page: SeedIn Sign Up
- Enter Retail/Qualified Investor in User Type. If you have clicked the link above, the field will default to this user/account type.
- Click Next. This will open the Step 2: Registration Form screen. Here, you have 2 options: a) Facebook Registration and b) Email Registration. My personal preference is always email registration for any platform that I register in. You may choose the other option if you want.
- Select Email Registration.
- Enter your email address and password.
- Re-enter your password.
- Click Register. This will open the PERSONAL PROFILE page.
- Enter the following:
- First Name
- Middle Name
- Last Name
- Suffix Name
- Gender
- Nationality
- Date of Birth
- Place of Birth
- Company Name
- Employee Position
- TIN
- Mobile Number
- Click Next. This will open the HOME ADDRESS page.
- Enter the following:
- Address Line 1
- Address Line 2
- City
- Province
- Country
- Personal Zipcode
- Landline Phone
- Mobile Phone
- Click Next. This will open the BANK DETAILS page.
- Enter the following:
- Bank Details
- Bank
- Account Name
- Account Number
- Address Swift Code
- Upload your Proof of Bank Ownership.
- Click Next. This will open the SOURCE OF INCOME page.
- Enter your gross annual income. Income ranges are pre-defined.
- Click Next.
- Upload your proof of personal identity (2 IDs with photo with 1 being a government-issued ID).
- Upload your proof of address.
- Click Submit Application. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent to your registered email address.
- Enter the OTP.
- Click Proceed. A welcome screen will be displayed. Just wait for 2-3 days and you will receive the confirmation in your registered email address.
G. How to top up funds to your SeedIn wallet?
For adding funds to SeedIn Philippines, I only use GCash as I have proven it to be fast and real time. However, there are a lot more options as displayed in SeedIn’s website. I haven’t tried yet most of them but the list below will at least give you an idea of what method to use based on your personal preference and convenience.
- Bank Transfer
- Sterling Bank of Asia
- Union Bank of the Philippines
- Asia United Bank
- Online Banking
- Bancnet ATM Card
- BDO Online Bills Payment
- BPI Online
- Metrobank Online
- PNB Online Bills Payment
- SBC Online Bills Payment
- UCPB Online Bills Payment
- Union Bank Online
- Mobile Wallet
- GCash
- Coins.ph
- Wechat Pay/ AliPay
- Union Pay
- Over The Counter
- BDO
- BPI
- PNB
- SBC
- UCPB
- ECPAY
- 7-Eleven
- M Lhuiller
- Cheque
H. How to top up to SeedIn Philippines via GCash
As I have mentioned above, I always top up using GCash as it is real time. I highly suggest that if you are a GCash user, it is best to use it for adding funds to your account.
- Log in to your SeedIn account.
- Select TOP UP ACCOUNT.
- In Top Up Account tab, select the following:
- Payment Type = Mobile Wallet
- Type = GCash
- Amount Transferred = Enter here your desired amount to top up.
- Select SUBMIT. Paynamics payment screen will display.
- Check the checkbox “I agree to the terms and conditions.
- Select Continue. The GCash Payment portal will open. You can view here the amount due and the mobile number from which the fund will come from.
- Tap NEXT. You will receive an OTP in your registered mobile number.
- In the GCash Payment portal, type the OTP sent to your mobile number.
- Type your 4-digit GCash MPIN.
- Tap NEXT. Payment screen confirming the amount will display.
- Select PAY PHP <AMOUNT>. The next screen confirms that transaction has been successful.
- Tap Continue. You will be redirected back to your SeedIn Philippines dashboard.
I. How to fund a project in SeedIn Philippines?
There are two ways to fund a project in SeedIn Philippines. You can either invest manually or auto-invest.
To invest manually, just go to Available Investments, check if there is an open project, then invest. I don’t suggest this method as this is time consuming and in my experience, has limited success.
When there is an open project, SeedIn Philippines allots a sizable percentage for auto-investment. After that, only then that users can manually invest. With the number of users that the platform has currently, it is a challenge to successfully invest manually. You may try manual investing if you want though.
The auto-invest feature is called Alfred. In the app, just go to your profile and click Alfred Auto Invest icon. Enable the feature and set the parameters that you want. You can set the interest range, term, repayment type, industry or industries, and your desired allocation for each project. This is explained further in the next section
J. How to use SeedIn’s Auto-invest feature
1. Why Auto-invest?
As I have mentioned, one of the awesome features that I like about SeedIn Philippines is the ability of the app to auto-invest. I am a working professional so I don’t have time to monitor if there are new projects in the platform.
With the many investors that are now users of SeedIn Philippines, I believe that I would have a very small chance of being able to invest without the help of Alfred, the name given to this feature.
I have also tried to manually invest but to no avail. I have only succeeded once when I tried to invest manually in a project with lower interest rate and not so many are that interested to invest.
In using Alfred, an investor can set his own rules. A rule has parameters. These parameters define how SeedIn Philippines will invest (or not invest) your money in a particular project.
2. How to activate auto-invest
Activating Alfred is very intuitive and very easy.
- In the homepage or Profile page of SeedIn Philippines, tap on the icon ALFRED.
- Enable Auto-Invest.
- Click Add a Rule.
- Re-name MY INVESTMENT RULE.
- Set the parameters
- Tap UPDATE AND CONTINUE
3. What are the parameters of Alfred auto-investment?
Below are the parameters that you can set:
- Interest rate
- Term
- Allocation Limit
- Loan Repayment Method
- Industries
Below are some examples of how you may want to set your Alfred parameters:
Example 1. You want to have projects in SeedIn Philippines that would provide you gains of 10-20% p.a. Also, You like to have projects with term of 3 to 12 months with both Balloon and Equal repayments. You also want to invest a maximum of Php 5,000.00 for each project. (Note: CATCH THEM ALL! is the name I gave to my Alfred rule.)
Example 2. You think an interest rate that would provide you gains of 10-20% p.a. is good enough. You like to have projects with terms of 6 to 12 months with both Balloon and Equal repayments.
You want to invest a maximum of Php 10,000.00 for each project and all industries will be included.
Example 3. How about 10-20% p.a. interest rate but only projects with Equal repayment and with Term of 6-12 months?
Also, you want to invest a maximum of Php 10,000.00 for each project but not all projects are coming from all industries.
Final Thoughts
I have reviewed SeedIn Philippines thoroughly before signing up in the platform. What made me sign up? First, it is registered with SEC with the secondary license still in the works. You may check SEC’s crowdfunding rules if you want to learn more. Second, with SeedIn, you are helping our local SMEs thru crowdfunding. Third, the starting investment amount of Php 1,000 is so affordable and almost everyone who wishes to grow his/her money can have the opportunity. Fourth, the app is so intuitive and it is easy to navigate. Details of my investment are easy to retrieve in the app.
Now for the cons. If you want to join SeedIn Philippines, there is something that you should know right now – it’s crowded. Of course, that’s a good indicator that the SeedIn Philippines is thriving. A lot of people trust the platform. Great! But on the other hand, it means that there are so many people that would take a pie for each and every project that becomes open in the platform.
Well, you have Alfred to assist you and it will invest your money when a project comes. However, due to a large number of investors in SeedIn Philippines, it might only invest the minimum, that is, Php 1,000 or a few increments after that.
If you want to invest heavily in the platform, say Php 20,000 or more for a single project, you cannot rely on Alfred. Projects are not always available, sometimes it takes weeks before a new one gets opened. With this, you know what will happen to the funds in your wallet.
Overall, I like investing in SeedIn Philippines. I can just top up, let Alfred invest it, then repeat.
