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Miguel Cordon · · 1 min readTencent-backed PayMaya secures digital bank license in the Philippines
“PayMaya has obtained approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to set up a digital bank,” Rappler reported.
Details:
- Called Maya Bank, the digital bank will focus on unbanked consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. Currently, PayMaya allows users to send and receive money, pay bills, and make online payments through its app.
- This is the sixth digital bank license the Philippine central bank has handed out, following those for UNObank, UnionDigital Bank, GOtyme, Overseas Filipino Bank, and Tonik Bank.
Dive deeper:
- The announcement comes after Voyager, the parent firm of PayMaya, secured US$167 million in funding from investors including Chinese tech giant Tencent, global investment firm KKR, and Philippine telecom firm PLDT.
- On September 1, the BSP stopped accepting applications for digital banking licenses in order “to better monitor” the industry’s performance. The central bank said that it will close the application window for three years.
Editing by Samreen Ahmad and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
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