The Philippines’ digital banking sector is getting bigger, yet while its deposit base is sound at almost PHP139 billion, it is not spread out evenly across the players.

As of December 2025, Maya Bank held PHP 67.7 billion in deposits, accounting for 48.9% of deposits across the country’s six digital banks then. GoTyme Bank is a distant second with PHP 43.5 billion, or 31.4%.

According to findings from the 2026 Philippines Fintech Report, both Maya and GoTyme Bank collectively hold 80.3% of the deposits of digital banks as of December 2025.

Both companies combined controlled more than 80% of the deposits held, taking the lion’s share, while the remaining four banks competed for the remaining fifth of the deposits.

The numbers raised an interesting question as the Philippines braces itself for even stiffer competition in its digital banking segment: What are the challengers doing to close the gap, and can any of them get a better grip on deposits?

Maya and GoTyme Control Over 80% of Digital Bank Deposits

Maya Bank is a clear forerunner in the field. Its 48.9% share of deposits as of December last year was larger than UNO Digital Bank, UnionDigital, Tonik and OFBank combined.

The bank has an obvious advantage in its wider Maya ecosystem. Rather than functioning solely as a bank and being obliged to win every customer from scratch, Maya can draw from an existing base of customers and merchants that are already using its payment and financial services.

Its banking products sit next to its wallet and other services within the same app, creating a relatively natural pathway from payments into savings and other financial products.

Maya has also reached profitability, an important milestone at a time when most of its peers are still weighing the pace of customer growth against the cost of building the business.

GoTyme Turns Physical Touchpoints Into a Deposit Advantage

GoTyme, meanwhile, is building its deposit franchise in a very different way.

The bank held PHP 43.5 billion in deposits as of end-2025, and had grown its customer base to around 9 million customers by March 2026.

While digital banking is always linked to removing physical touchpoints, GoTyme has deliberately kept kiosks at retail locations, enabling customers to open accounts and obtain their cards where they are easily met.

In doing so, the bank gives its customer base an effective physical customer acquisition channel while stripping down its marketing costs simultaneously.

How Are the Other Four Digital Banks Upping Their Game?

The deposit gap becomes considerably wider after the top two. UNO Digital Bank held PHP8.8 billion in deposits, followed by UnionDigital Bank at PHP 8.06 billion, Tonik Bank at PHP 6.6 billion and OFBank at PHP 3.76 billion as of December 2025.

OFBank Bets on the Overseas Philippine Market

OFBank represents perhaps the most distinct model of the group.

The government-backed digital bank is focused largely on overseas Filipinos and their families, giving it a customer niche that sits well outside the broader mass-market strategies most of its competitors have chosen.

Its deposit base may be the smallest among the six, but OFBank is also already profitable.

The next stage of the competition could instead depend on who can build the strongest niche, partnership or embedded distribution model.

UNO Digital Bank Leans on Partnerships to Expand Its Reach

UNO Digital Bank has started leveraging strategic partnerships, such as partnering with Pascal Resources Energy to serve the underbanked with business banking solutions. The aim here is to help micro-businesses manage their cash flow, transactions and growth.

It has also partnered with Sun Life Grepa to deliver innovative banking and insurance solutions. Notably, UNO Digital Bank also reached operating breakeven in February 2026.

Tonik Bank Pairs Fresh Funding with Automation

K2 Investments has provided new capital for an undisclosed sum to Tonik Digital Bank as part of an ongoing pre-Series C funding round, which the bank intends to use in preparation for its next growth phase.

Tonik has also leaned on automation, partnering with AI Rudder to run customer service through AI voice agents. By May 2026, Tonik said it had become the first standalone digital bank in the Philippines to report profitability under IFRS.

UnionDigital Bank Expands Lending With an Eye on Asset Quality

Rather than chase deposits through rates alone, UnionDigital Bank is building through partnerships that extend its reach and deepen customer relationships.

It partnered with the Social Security System to launch a microloan program accessible via its app, designed for MSMEs seeking capital, and struck a deal with Chubb Philippines to add complimentary insurance protection to its digital loans.

UnionDigital Bank is aiming to break even this year.

The Deposit Race Is About to Get More Crowded

The war for digital bank deposits is no longer limited to the original six. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has raised the cap on digital banking licences from six to 10. And more recently, MariBank Philippines became the seventh digital bank as of July 2026.

That still leaves room for three more entrants, though any further licences still require BSP’s approval.

For the existing players, the fight for deposits could soon get harder. The performance of Maya and GoTyme, though, suggests that distribution counts for a great deal.

The biggest battle may be convincing consumers who still keep most of their money with traditional banks to move a larger portion of those funds into digital banks. For context, the banking sector reached about PHP 22.2 trillion in deposits as of end-March 2026.

The sheer size of the deposit pool will make the race for digital banks over the next few years particularly interesting.

Featured image edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by ziaaurrehmanmalik on Magnific