Governor Remolona: BSP Hopes to Issue More Digital Bank Licenses Soon
by Fintech News Philippines October 12, 2023The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is considering lifting the three-year moratorium on digital bank licenses, which has been in place since August 2021, according to PhilStar Global.
The report quoted BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. saying that there are many groups, both foreign and local, that have expressed interest in obtaining a license to operate a digital bank in the Philippines.
Eli Remolona
“There are many interested groups. The ball is on our court. We’re looking at the existing ones, the six digital banks that have licenses. Essentially, looking at their business models, we are learning and they are learning.
And then once we get more comfortable with business models, we will allow more licenses for digital banks. I’m hoping that we can begin issuing licenses again pretty soon,”
said Remolona.
There are currently six licensed digital banks in the Philippines; LANDBANK’s Overseas Filipino Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, UNObank, Union Digital Bank, GOtyme Bank, and Maya Bank.
The BSP is currently doing a study on the impact of the operations of the six digital banks. Once the study is completed, the central bank will decide whether or not to lift the moratorium.
The moratorium was intended to give the digital banks space to exercise healthy competition without saturating the digital banking space.
To learn more about the six digital banks operating in the Philippines, read the Fintech Philippines Report 2023 here.
