Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Romando Artes has written to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) about fake traffic fine texts targeting motorists in the Philippines, Philstar reported. The messages pose as alerts under the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP), which uses cameras to record traffic violations, and direct recipients to fake payment websites. Artes said the MMDA has no power to arrest scammers and relies on law enforcement to catch them. The Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group is investigating, and the MMDA has also filed a complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and coordinated…

Tonik Digital Bank has expanded its app with mobile load, telco promos and game credits, Manila Bulletin reported. Customers can top up their own number or anyone else’s by entering a mobile number, according to Unbox. Load and promos go straight to the recipient’s number, while game credits arrive by SMS. Tonik does not charge additional fees on these purchases, One More Game reported. Load For Any Number, Credits by SMS Load is available for telcos including Globe, Smart, TNT, TM, DITO and GOMO, with promo bundles covering data, calls and SMS. Game credits cover titles such as Mobile Legends,…

Philippine Airlines (PAL) now accepts Apple Pay, the airline posted on Facebook, about two months after Apple’s payment service launched in the Philippines. The addition gives passengers another way to pay the flag carrier. PAL’s existing options in its Manage My Booking facility include credit and debit cards, PayPal, GCash, GrabPay and Alipay, according to the airline’s booking FAQ. Which Cards Work with Apple Pay Apple Pay launched in the Philippines on 4 August with support from Chinabank, GoTyme Bank, Metrobank and UnionBank. Cardholders with an eligible Visa or Mastercard debit, credit or prepaid card from these banks can add…

Maya is urging customers to use its in-app Security Center, where they can approve Send Money transfers with Face ID or fingerprint instead of an SMS one-time password (OTP), BusinessMirror reported. Maya launched the Security Center late last year and has added controls to it since. What Users Can Do in the Security Center Customers with upgraded accounts can enrol trusted phones through the Security Center, found under Profile or Services, or through a prompt after logging in. Once a phone is enrolled, its biometrics can approve Send Money transactions, subject to Maya’s security checks, Gadget Pilipinas reported. Under Account…

CIMB Group is exploring a sale of its business in the Philippines, home to the digital-only lender CIMB Bank Philippines, as it looks to streamline and focus on bigger markets, according to a Bloomberg report. The Malaysian lender is working with a financial adviser and has approached potential buyers to gauge interest, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. A deal could value the business at up to US$200 million. No decision has been made, and CIMB could still opt not to sell, the people said. Bloomberg said the bank did not respond to its requests for comment. CIMB Bank…

UK-based fintech Revolut is said that it would apply for digital bank and electronic money issuer (EMI) licences in the Philippines from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. DTI Secretary Cristina Roque discussed the plans with Adam Gagen, Revolut’s Global Head of Government Affairs, on 2 October. The meeting took place at the company’s London headquarters, Asia Business Outlook reported. Revolut is reviewing the regulatory and corporate structures it would need before applying. For now, its Philippine banking plans remain at the evaluation stage. Building on Its Manila Tech Hub Revolut already…

GCash parent Mynt has priced its IPO at US$0.11 per share. Retail investors can subscribe from 6 to 12 October, after institutional demand left the book oversubscribed multiple times, Mynt said in a statement. Mynt priced the shares about a third below the US$0.16 maximum it set out in its June filing. The base offer of 8.03 billion shares raises about US$846 million, and the deal could reach US$972 million if underwriters fully exercise the overallotment option of 1.2 billion additional shares. At the higher figure of PHP 60.9 billion, Mynt said the deal would become the largest IPO in…

Philippine authorities have arrested 244 foreign nationals, most of them Chinese, in raids on two sites in Mindanao, the biggest crackdown this year on illegal offshore gaming operators, according to Al Jazeera. The Immigration Bureau said military and other law enforcement agencies carried out the raids on Friday. At the first site, authorities arrested 110 Chinese citizens, two Cambodians and a Hong Kong resident. At the second, they arrested 131 foreigners, mostly Chinese, alongside citizens of Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar. Officers seized large quantities of computer equipment, mobile phones, laptops and SIM cards. Criminal gangs are accused of using Philippine…

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is expanding digital access to UPLIFT cash aid through GCash. Eligible beneficiaries can receive subsequent payouts in their GCash wallets, according to the Manila Times. The first digital payout took place in Bacolod City on 22 September. There, 62 Group 2 beneficiaries received PHP 2,000 each through GCash. UPLIFT stands for the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport. It gives Group 2 households PHP 2,000 a month from July to December 2026 amid the energy emergency. These are poor and near-poor households identified through the PSA’s Community-Based Monitoring System. They…

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has partnered with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) to roll out an online payment system for public services. The DOJ will integrate its payment collections into LandBank’s Link.BizPortal, allowing the public to pay for fees, clearances, certifications and other services online, according to Tribune. Clients can generate a QR code for a transaction and scan it with a mobile banking or e-wallet app. LandBank then credits the payment to the DOJ automatically. The bank also said users can open accounts with a physical Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) card or an electronic PhilSys ID,…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing mandatory accreditation for third-party collection agencies (TPCAs) that collect debts for financing and lending companies. The draft circular, issued for public comment on 30 September, would bring TPCAs under the SEC’s direct supervision and set uniform conduct standards to protect borrowers from abusive collection. Under the draft, only SEC-accredited TPCAs and the in-house collectors of financing and lending companies could collect debts. Accreditation would last three years, with renewal applications due at least 30 days before expiry, and accredited agencies would appear in a registry on the SEC’s online database. Only SEC-registered…

Deutsche Bank has appointed Vikas Arora as its Chief Country Officer and Head of Corporate Banking in the Philippines, effective October 1, subject to regulatory approval, according to Reuters. Arora replaces outgoing Country Head Dino Siason, FinanceAsia reported. Arora will lead Deutsche Bank’s business in the Philippines across corporate and investment banking and represent the group in the country. He will report jointly to Kaushik Shaparia, the bank’s CEO for India and Emerging Asia, and Burkhard Ziegenhorn, Head of Corporate Banking for Southeast Asia and Australia. “We are pleased he has returned to Manila and look forward to working with…

Security Bank Corp.’s retail banking head, Rahul Rasal, is stepping down in December as the bank undertakes a broad leadership reorganisation involving more than a dozen senior officers, according to Philstar. In a regulatory filing, the bank said Rasal, Executive Vice President and Retail Banking Segment Head, tendered his voluntary resignation for personal reasons, effective December 31. Rasal will transition out of his current role starting October 1, with Security Bank President and CEO Victor Lee assuming interim oversight of the retail banking segment. “We thank Rahul for his contributions during his time with Security Bank and wish him success…

Mynt, the parent company of GCash, has secured commitments from more than 20 cornerstone investors for its proposed initial public offering (IPO), according to Mynt’s own newsroom. The company said this represents the largest number of cornerstone investors secured for a Philippine IPO to date, subject to final pricing and completion of the offer. The group consists of 14 foreign funds and six Philippine institutions, having committed to take up approximately 70% of the IPO shares, worth roughly PHP 36.5 billion, excluding the overallotment option, Manila Bulletin reported. Global investors include funds managed by BlackRock, Capital Research and Management Company,…

Ria Money Transfer and Palawan Group of Companies are enhancing their partnership in the Philippines, expanding both inbound and outbound money transfer services, according to a LinkedIn post from Steve Peregrino, Ria Philippines’ President and CEO. The expanded collaboration builds on Pera Padala Abroad, the outbound remittance service Ria and Palawan Group launched together in December 2025. Palawan Group operates one of the fastest-growing financial institutions in the Philippines, with an extensive network of more than 3,500 branches spanning pawning and remittance services. Its Palawan Pay app gives users an omnichannel way to send and receive money, combining physical branch…

BNPL is a lifeline for Malaysians shut out of formal credit, or a fast route into debt, depending on who you ask. ShopeePay’s CEO makes his case. Alain Yee joined Shopee in 2019 as CEO of ShopeePay Malaysia, launching the e-wallet two to three years after its main rivals. SPayLater followed in 2021 and cash lending in 2022. He also leads Monee in Malaysia, Sea’s digital financial services business, and is president of the Association of E-Money Issuers (AEMI). Before Shopee, he worked in consulting and finance in London, then at Discovery Channel and McKinsey before joining Astro. In this…

 The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partially suspended DCPay Philippines Inc., the e-wallet operator behind Coins.ph, blocking inbound money transfers across the InstaPay and PESONet clearinghouses, according to BitPinas. The Philippine Payments Management Inc. notified financial institutions of the directive through PPMI Advisory No. 2026-0929-029, mandating immediate implementation pursuant to BSP Monetary Board Resolution No. 839. Under the order, DCPay can no longer receive incoming credit transfers cleared via InstaPay or PESONet, affecting incoming person-to-person transfers, InstaPay QR credit transfers, and DCPay’s pilot participation in InstaPay for Business. Users attempting to cash in or transfer money into a Coins.ph…

Netbank has entered a strategic partnership with PayLoro, combining Netbank’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure with PayLoro’s digital payment solutions, according to a LinkedIn post from Netbank. The companies said the partnership aims to make financial services faster, safer and more accessible for everyday users and businesses. PayLoro is the fintech platform of eMandarin Ventures, Inc., a Philippine company founded in 2019 and regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, holding both an Electronic Money Issuer license and an Operator of Payment System designation since 2021. Its ecosystem supports digital payment acceptance, merchant collections, disbursements, QR and point-of-sale solutions, and enterprise integrations,…

Embedded finance has settled into the region’s everyday digital life. Payments, credit and wallets now sit inside platforms customers use for something else entirely. What has not settled is who captures the value. The platform owns the journey and the data. Someone further back supplies the licence, the balance sheet and the underlying infrastructure and carries the risk when something goes wrong. Both sides claim the customer, and the economics between them are still being renegotiated deal by deal. The competitive picture is also shifting. Some platforms have stopped partnering for banking capability and started acquiring it. Some fintechs are…

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand financing options for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including those seeking to acquire electric vehicles, according to BusinessWorld. The partnership will support DTI’s E-Transport Loan Program, helping transport operators, cooperatives and other enterprises secure funding to shift from gas-powered vehicles to EVs. “Today’s MoU creates a vital bridge for Filipino enterprises to access the right capital they need to grow and compete,” said Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque to Manila Times. “We need other banks to help assist SBCorp…