The Philippines has always had a colourful fintech scene, but 2025 feels like one of those years where everything moves at once.
New players jump in, regulators swing hard, global names finally arrive, and long-time concerns suddenly turn into national debates.
Before we begin, let me tell you that this list is not in any particular order.
Now, let’s walk through the biggest stories that shaped the year so far, and how they all fit together in the wider story of money, technology, habits, and a country that’s still figuring out what digital finance should look like.
Manny Pacquiao Steps Into Fintech, This Time With Gloves Off
We begin with probably one of the most unexpected and strangest story this year. Manny Pacquiao, one of, if not, THE sports icon in the Philippines has been to almost every ring, and succeeded. This year he collects another one, like one of those infinity stones in the Avengers.
His BSP-licensed Manny Pay officially stepped into the ring, this time as a fully regulated payments app rather than another token or NFT experiment floating in the wild west of Web3.
What makes Manny Pay interesting is that it’s not trying to be another “store money, send money” wallet.
The platform wants businesses too, offering mass payouts, online collections, and a partnership with Prime Electric to tighten up bill payments.
It feels like Pacquiao is making a smarter, more grounded comeback in tech, and it adds a fresh flavour to an already crowded payments scene.
If this works, who knows, maybe the next generation of Filipinos might know him more as a fintech founder rather than a decorated boxer?
OFW Remittances Hit a Record US$38.34 Billion
While regulators are cleaning house and new fintech players are popping up, OFWs have pulled off another milestone.
The money they sent home reached US$38.34 billion in 2024, and a big December surge pushed the total to its highest level yet.
It’s the kind of figure that reminds you how essential OFWs are to the country’s financial heartbeat. Their remittances make up more than 8% of GDP, which means these aren’t just large numbers on a report.
They’re rent money, school fees, groceries, and everyday stability for millions of families.
Most of these funds pass through banks and formal channels, showing just how deeply financial services have threaded themselves into daily life.
And really, any conversation about Philippine fintech feels incomplete without recognising that OFWs remain the country’s steadiest and most dependable source of economic strength.
A Tough Year for Shaky Lenders as the SEC Cleans House
While some parts of the fintech space are busy launching new apps and attracting global players, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been on its own mission, and it’s a pretty blunt one.
This year has turned into a full-on cleanup drive for lenders that have been dodging rules for too long.
It started with the headline everyone noticed. The SEC revoked the corporate registrations and licences of 401 lending companies after years of missed filings and ignored reportorial requirements.
These firms even skipped an amnesty program that would’ve given them a clean slate at a discount, which means the regulator’s patience finally ran out.
And just as the dust was settling, another wave of cases surfaced. This time it wasn’t hundreds of companies, but seven online lending apps that had been operating without registration.
Names like Cash Konek, Pesosuki, Swiftloan, and others were ordered to shut down immediately.
These apps were running unrecorded and undisclosed platforms despite a moratorium on new online lending registrations that has been in place since late 2021.
In the SEC’s view, this opened the door to abusive collection practices, unfair interest rates, and possible misuse of user data.
It didn’t stop there either as the SEC also pulled the licences of 56 financing companies that had fallen into delinquency after repeatedly failing to submit reports.
These firms simply ignored the rules long enough that the regulator had no choice but to step in.
Taken together, it’s clear the SEC is sending a message.
Fintech might be thriving, but compliance is not optional. If you lend money in the Philippines, especially to people who rely on these services to get through the month, you’re expected to do it transparently and responsibly.
And honestly, a bit of discipline in this corner of the industry feels overdue.
GCash, Maya, and the Growing Debate Over Gambling Inside Finance Apps
And while the SEC has been busy tightening the screws on lenders, another issue has been bubbling up in a completely different corner of the fintech world.
For a lot of people, it came as a surprise that GCash and Maya have become two of the easiest entry points to online betting in the country.
You open the app to pay for groceries or send money to a friend, and a few taps later you’re staring at a list of casino-style games that weren’t exactly advertised front and center.
It’s all tucked inside the ecosystem, quiet enough that many users didn’t realise what was there until stories started circulating online.
Some people shrug it off. Others aren’t as relaxed about it, especially as more cases of addiction begin to surface. Counsellors say they’re seeing more women struggling with gambling habits, and a worrying number of incidents involve low-income households.
There have even been reports of teenagers getting in with almost no barriers, which is unsettling no matter how you look at it.
The lending side of these apps adds another layer of risk. GCredit alone lets users borrow up to PHP 50,000, and Fuse Lending has already released more than PHP 155 billion in loans since 2021.
It’s not hard to imagine how borrowing and betting can quickly blend into a dangerous cycle for someone who’s already financially stretched.
All of this has led to a growing sense that the country is walking a fine line. Digital wallets were designed to bring more people into the financial system, not introduce them to an entirely different kind of risk.
And when both things sit inside the same app, the line between financial inclusion and financial harm starts to get blurry.
Google Pay Finally Arrives, Bringing Nine Partner Banks Along
Luckily enough, the Philippines’ fintech scene ended the year with a bang, and this time it was a good kind of loud.
After years of teasing “coming soon,” Google Pay is finally live in the country. It kicked off with nine partners including GCash, Maya Bank, GoTyme, UnionBank, RCBC, and a few others.
Tap-to-pay just got real for millions of Android users who had been waiting for a simple way to make NFC payments without juggling multiple bank apps.
BDO and BPI, two of the country’s biggest banks, weren’t part of the launch because they are still sorting out technical details.
Still, Google Pay’s arrival makes it clear that global wallets are eyeing a piece of the Philippine market and that the BSP is open to them as long as the rules are clear.
Apple Pay is said to follow, next year.
What These Stories Say About Where Philippine Fintech Is Going
Put together, these stories paint a picture of a fintech ecosystem that’s growing fast, cleaning up old problems, attracting global attention, and occasionally walking into new dilemmas.
You have celebrities entering the payments space, regulators tightening the screws on non-compliant lenders, OFWs propping up the economy with record remittances, global wallets finally joining the market, and a national conversation brewing over how financial apps should handle gambling.
The common thread is simple. The Philippines is trying to modernise its financial system, but it’s also learning the limits of convenience and speed.
Every win introduces a new question. Every new feature creates a new responsibility.
And every major story reminds us that fintech isn’t just about innovation. It’s about people, habits, access, and the kind of financial culture the country wants to build moving forward.
If 2025 is any indication, the Philippines is in for an eventful few years ahead.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on images by user6702303 and creativaimages via Freepik.
