🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Atome adds bill payments on top of a profitable, growing business in the Philippines

• Parent company Atome Financial posted its first full year of profit in 2024. Operating income rose 63% to US$236 million 1.
• The Philippines is one of Atome Financial’s growth markets. It recently secured a US$75 million asset-backed financing facility from Lending Ark, a specialty finance platform, to fund expansion there 2.
• The bill-pay feature reaches a large active base. Atome has issued more than 2 million PayLater Anywhere Cards in the Philippines 3.
• Most of those cards went to first-time cardholders, which makes bill payment a natural service to add in the app 3.

The partnership takes buy now, pay later from shopping into everyday money tasks

• The move widens Atome from a retail credit product into an app used for daily payments 1.
• Adding bills can bring people back more often and give Atome a clearer view of recurring household spending inside its app 4.
• The approach fits Southeast Asia, where many people remain underbanked and credit card penetration is below 10% in most countries. It brings credit into routine payments 5.
• That may deepen Atome’s edge and raise pressure on fintech rivals plus traditional banks to build broader tools instead of only installment loans 6.