Digital banks in the Philippines

Digital banks in the Philippines are a new formal category of banks which were only approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank, in 2020.[1] The first such banks launched in the Philippines were Tonik, Overseas Filipino Bank, and UnionDigital of UnionBank of the Philippines. Several more banks were approved by the BSP before 2021, when it announced that it would stop approving the establishment of further digital banks for three years, in order to strengthen the industry and assure healthy competition among its players.[2] The BSP later allowed for new digital bank entrants starting 2025.[3]

Background

Digital banking and financial technology have been one of the most rapidly growing industries in Asia, seeing large success in countries such as South Korea, China, and Japan.[4] In Southeast Asia, Singapore is at the top of the digital banking industry, with the Philippines only recently following suit when the need  for digital transactions rose during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[1] A report by the BSP in 2019 claimed that 70% of Filipinos remained unbanked. A decline in check and ATM transactions, as well as a rise in digital transactions, was also reported in 2020 by the BSP.[2]

Recognizing the necessity to digitalize, the BSP issued Circular No. 1105 on "The Guidelines on the Establishment of Digital Banks" in 2020, allowing digital banks to apply for their formal licenses. The BSP  aims to digitalize 50 percent of transactions and encourage at least 70 percent of Filipinos to open their own financial accounts by year 2023.[5]

The BSP has also announced that it has capped the number of licensed digital banks that will operate in the country to six (6), instead of seven originally planned.[6] It has stopped accepting applications for the digital banking license for three years in order to preserve the competition among the new banks.[7]

The BSP announced that starting January 1, 2025, it would reopen the application window for digital banks, with four new slots available, expanding the number of licensed digital banks to a maximum of ten (10).[8]

As of July 22, 2026, there are seven licensed digital banks in the Philippines.[9]

List of largest digital banks in the Philippines

2025

Rank Bank name Assets (millions of PHP)
1 Maya Bank, Inc.77,662.74 [10]
2 MariBank Philippines, Inc.68,198.71 [11]
3 Gotyme Bank Corporation50,111.39 [12]
4 Unobank, Inc.11,941.39 [13]
5 UnionDigital Bank11,834.79 [14]
6 Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.8,248.43 [15]
7 Overseas Filipino Bank Inc A Digital Bank of Landbank5,553.4 [16]

2024

Rank Bank name Assets (millions of PHP)
1 Maya Bank, Inc.45,321.32 [10]
2 MariBank Philippines, Inc.38,560.86 [17]
3 Gotyme Bank Corporation29,848.91 [12]
4 UnionDigital Bank19,446.25 [14]
5 Unobank, Inc.10,337.42 [13]
6 Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.7,720.57 [15]
7 Overseas Filipino Bank Inc A Digital Bank of Landbank4,983.58 [16]

2023

Rank Bank name Assets (millions of PHP)
1 Maya Bank, Inc.28,080.81 [10]
2 UnionDigital Bank22,472.87 [14]
3 MariBank Philippines, Inc.18,592.63 [18]
4 Gotyme Bank Corporation16,803.12 [12]
5 Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.9,742.99 [15]
6 Unobank, Inc.6,828.63 [13]
7 Overseas Filipino Bank Inc A Digital Bank of Landbank4,761.72 [16]

Banks that offer similar digital and online banking services

The following banks are not licensed by the BSP to operate as digital banks but are offering digital banking and/or online banking services:

  • CIMB Bank - a Malaysia-based universal bank that has 1,080 branches throughout Southeast Asia. It has various entities in the region, including CIMB Bank Philippines. CIMB Bank Philippines was established in December 2018 and officially launched in 2019 as an all-digital banking presence. Its mobile app is called OCTO and users are able to open their accounts and manage transactions through the platform. CIMB was awarded the Best Digital Bank 2021 by the Global Banking and Finance Review.[19]
  • DiskarTech - Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)'s digital bank and app whose key features include its languages being a mix of English and Tagalog, addressing the bilingual needs of Filipino users.[20] The app was launched in July 2020 and aims to target unbanked Filipinos. DiskarTech is also the first digital bank to offer a Visayan interface, extending its goal of financial inclusivity to the local mass markets. The app has no required maintaining balance and users can download the app to open an account.[21]
  • Komo by EastWest - EastWest’s fully digital banking service that was launched in May 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in the Philippines. EastWest officials mentioned that Komo combines the convenience of modern digital banking that is backed by the security of an established “brick-and-mortar” bank.[22]
  • NetBank - formerly Community Rural Bank of Romblon (Romblon).[23]
  • OwnBank - known as Rural Bank of Cavite City.[23]
  • Salmon - formerly Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna).[24]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Noble, L.W.T. (2020-12-04). "BSP releases guidelines for establishment of digital banks". BusinessWorld. Archived from the original on 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  2. 1 2 Lucas, Daxim L. (2021-08-19). "In surprise move, BSP sets 3-year moratorium on new digital banking licenses". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  3. ↑ Ta-Asan, Keisha (December 28, 2024). "BSP lifts ban on new digital banks". Philstar. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Leading Neobanks in Asia: Top 8 Digital-only Banks | Seasia.co". Good News from Southeast Asia. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  5. ↑ "UNObank eyes launch in PH after securing digital bank license". ABS-CBN News. 2021-06-09. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  6. ↑ "Philippines will only have 6 digital banks for now". Philstar Global. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  7. ↑ Lucas, Daxim L. (2021-08-19). "In surprise move, BSP sets 3-year moratorium on new digital banking licenses". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  8. ↑ "Bangko Sentral to license 4 new digital banks". Inquirer. August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ Cigaral, Ian Nicolas (July 23, 2026). "Philippines gets 7th digital bank as MariBank upgrades license". Inquirer. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "MAYA BANK INC Published Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2025". BSP. bsp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  11. ↑ "MariBank Philippines, Inc. (A Rural Bank) 2025 ANNUAL REPORT" (PDF). MariBank. maribank.ph. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "GOTYME BANK CORPORATION Published Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2025". BSP. bsp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 "UNOBANK INC Published Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2025". BSP. bsp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 "UNION DIGITAL BANK Published Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2025". BSP. bsp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 "TONIK DIGITAL BANK INC Published Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2025". BSP. bsp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 "OVERSEAS FILIPINO BANK INC A DIGITAL BANK OF LANDBANK Published Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2025". BSP. bsp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ "MariBank Philippines, Inc. (A Rural Bank) 2024 ANNUAL REPORT" (PDF). MariBank. maribank.ph. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  18. ↑ "MariBank Philippines, Inc. (A Rural Bank) 2023 ANNUAL REPORT" (PDF). MariBank. maribank.ph. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Multi-Awarded Bank | About Us | CIMB Bank PH". www.cimbbank.com.ph. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  20. ↑ "FAQs – DiskarTech". diskartech.ph. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  21. ↑ "DiskarTech: What you need to know". www.yugatech.com. 29 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  22. ↑ Dumlao-Abadilla, Doris (2020-05-22). "EastWest unveils digital banking arm". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  23. 1 2 "Rural banks turned digital banks: Boon or bane?". BusinessWorld. March 12, 2025. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Salmon redefines banking with Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna)'s digitalization". Inquirer. August 22, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.