2 Singaporean fintech firms receive Philippine digital bank license

The Philippines’ digital banking scene continues to grow, with two Singapore-based fintech startups being granted digital licenses by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank.

Neobank Tonik and DigibankAsia-developed UnoBank received a nod from the BSP in the last two days. The former initially operated with a rural bank license while the latter was the first to be licensed outright as a digital bank.

Photo Credit: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Founded in 2018 and launched in the Philippines this March, Tonik provides deposit, loan, payment, and card products. UnoBank, which has yet to launch, is being built on a technology stack that includes products and services from banking platforms Mambu and Backbase, as well as AWS.

“This will help us further strengthen our foothold in the neobanking space through accelerating the roll out of our additional lending and payment products,” said Greg Krasnov, CEO and founder of Tonik, in a statement.

Just last month, Tonik secured US$17 million to accelerate its growth and invest in product development.

“Long term, our goal is to bridge the gap to financial inclusion,” said UnoBank founder Manish Bhai in a company statement. “We are building the first full-spectrum digital bank to service those with unmet financial needs in Southeast and South Asia.”

Tonik and UnoBank join Overseas Filipino Bank, a subsidiary of government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, in the new category set up by the BSP.

Local bank UnionBank is the fourth to apply for a digital banking license in the country, reported Business World. While online banking players CIMB Bank and ING are digital in their operations, they both have universal licenses, according to a Manila Bulletin report.

Euromonitor data estimated the Philippines’ unbanked population to be at 63% as of 2020. However, this is expected to reduce with more Filipinos getting bank accounts digitally by 2025, as per a study.