Maya has introduced a new feature called Mini Payments to allow credit card users to convert eligible purchases into a monthly instalment plan, as per InsiderPH. The financial service reflects growing consumer demand for greater flexibility when managing larger purchases and household budgets. Cardholders can split qualifying transactions into up to 12 monthly payments at a fixed 1% monthly interest rate. The new tool caters specifically to Maya Black Credit Card and Landers Cashback Everywhere Credit Card holders. Users can convert eligible posted purchases into a monthly payment plan directly within the mobile application. The feature enables consumers to decide…

Security Bank Corporation announced that its Wholesale Banking Head, John Cary Ong, has officially stepped down from his position, BusinessWorld reported. President and Chief Executive Officer Victor Lee Meng Teck thanked the executive for his meaningful contributions to the business franchise. Lee will temporarily oversee the segment alongside other senior executives to ensure business continuity across corporate operations. The interim leadership team includes Alliance Segment Head Hirofumi Umeno and Corporate Banking Head Yvonne Marcelo. Commercial Banking Head Jorge Lindley Ong and Capital Investment President Virgilio Chua will also support the transitional management structure. Lee emphasised that the corporate division remains…

Tonik announced two new board members appointments, including a key leadership role in the Philippines. Dan Pasko officially joins the main board of Tonik Financial Pte Ltd to provide strategic guidance. Pasko brings two decades of private equity experience to the financial technology firm. His capital discipline will support the digital bank as it scales its operations toward a future liquidity event. Meanwhile, Cristina Harea assumes the role of chairperson for the regulated Tonik bank subsidiary in the Philippines. Harea previously served as the deputy governor of the National Bank of Moldova. The appointment of a former central banker of…

The Securities and Exchange Commission in the Philippines has issued a formal clarification regarding BlockShoals Technologies and its testing timeline, as the regulatory body addressed the scope and objectives of the 90-day integration period for the company within the StratBox initiative. The SEC previously announced the participation of the digital asset company in its strategic sandbox on 29 May 2026. Under the programme, BlockShoals Technologies is authorised to test trading activities and advanced crypto asset products within a controlled environment. The approved testing plan requires the technology firm to integrate its systems with a licensed virtual asset service provider. The Bangko…

Munify has integrated with the Circle network to enable USDC stablecoin payouts into the Philippines, as reported by the Business Wire. The strategic integration allows users to receive global funds and convert them directly into Philippine pesos. Customers can route these converted funds directly to local bank accounts and digital wallets. This development improves the speed and efficiency of cross border transfers into one of the largest remittance markets globally. Central bank data shows that remittances account for over 8% of the national gross domestic product. These vital cash inflows reached nearly US$40 billion in 2025 as over 2.1 million…

Generative AI is making fraud more convincing and easier to scale. Reports of Gen AI-enabled scams rose 456% between May 2024 and April 2025, while deepfake activity is also rising sharply in APAC. Banks and fintechs across APAC are under growing pressure to tighten fraud controls and strengthen identity checks. This webinar brings together fraud and risk leaders to discuss how financial institutions are responding, including the use of stronger biometric checks and advanced liveness detection. The growing impact of deepfakes in Singapore and across APAC Exploring advanced technologies as fraud prevention grows more complex Striking the right balance between…

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) has partnered with Maya to launch new cashless payments across its frontline operations. The two entities recently signed a memorandum of agreement to embed a secure online gateway for payments across the digital platforms of the CFO. This integration aims to reduce long processing queues and eliminate geographic friction for crucial government clearances. The digital framework will allow users to settle agency fees using credit cards, debit cards, quick response codes, and digital wallets. Chairperson Dante Ang II stated that the technological shift aligns with national priorities to optimise state services. Ang added that…

Billease recently injected PHP 500 million in fresh funding into its rural banking subsidiary. The consumer finance platform allocated the capital to the Rural Bank of Sta Maria, Ilocos Sur. Executives confirmed an additional PHP 500 million commitment by the end of the year to bring the total capitalisation to over PHP 1 billion. The strategic investment marks the second phase of the corporate growth strategy to build regulated banking services. The move actively supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas initiative to promote digital-centric rural banks. Management has already established proper governance committees and modernised core systems ahead of the…

AI is getting better at helping us shop. The next step is much bigger: making payments on our behalf. That sounds convenient, but it also raises some important questions. Who is really in control? What happens when an AI agent makes a mistake? And how can banks, merchants, and regulators trust transactions that are no longer initiated directly by humans? In this episode, Lionel Grosclaude, CEO of Fime, joins Fintech News Network to discuss the rise of agentic commerce and why trust may become the most important layer in AI-driven payments. The conversation explores Fime’s recently launched FACT (Framework for…

PayMongo and Paymentology have collaborated to launch a new Philippine prepaid card operating on the global Mastercard network. The virtual financial tool allows local small and medium enterprises to access spend management functions without opening a formal bank account. Business owners can now issue and use the pre-funded payment tool in under five minutes without visiting a physical branch. Industry data shows that only one in five business payments currently occur digitally despite the rapid shift toward electronic commerce. Mastercard Philippines Country Manager Jason Crasto stated: “SMEs are operating in an increasingly digital economy, but access to modern payment tools…

Hana Bank has officially opened its new representative office in the Philippines to expand its business network across Southeast Asia, as reported by DigitalToday. The opening ceremony took place on 5 June 2026 within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The event welcomed officials from the South Korean embassy, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and the local unit of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Subic operates as a special economic zone located approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Manila. The area houses the Philippine unit of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which recently upgraded its local shipyard facilities. The maritime company commenced comprehensive shipbuilding…

EastWest Bank has lowered the asset threshold for its Priority segment to serve the modern wealth client across the Philippines, according to an official statement. The financial institution reduced the minimum assets under management requirement for the advisory service to PHP 2.5 million. This entry point sits below the standard PHP 3 million to PHP 5 million required by most competing priority banking programmes. The strategy bridges the gap between traditional retail banking and private banking for emerging affluent individuals. By the end of 2025, the Priority business recorded double-digit growth and expanded its overall assets under management. The service…

ACE Money Transfer has formed a strategic partnership with the Philippine National Bank to improve remittance processing for Filipino expatriates worldwide. The collaboration enables global customers to send funds home with greater convenience while providing multiple distribution options for local recipients. Beneficiaries across the country can now withdraw their funds directly through automated bank deposits, physical bank branches, or authorised payout agents. The initiative uses the extensive domestic network of the bank to ensure that families can access cash transfers across both urban and rural areas. The move aims to capture a larger share of the local transaction market, which…

GCash is rolling out an in-app one-time password (OTPs) feature by 22 June 2026 to replace SMS based authentication and aligns with the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA). The move by the financial platform complies with a directive from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to phase out traditional text verification codes. By delivering validation requests directly through secure push notifications, the company ensures that only authenticated device owners can authorise transactions. The immediate one-tap authentication mechanism eliminates the need for users to switch between applications or wait for text messages to arrive. GCash Chief Information Security Officer Miguel Geronilla stated:…

Visa has launched Garmin Pay in the Philippines to provide local smartwatch users with a new secure contactless payment option, according to ABS-CBN. The feature enables EastWest Bank and GoTyme Bank Visa cardholders to make secure transactions using their compatible wearables. Foreign visitors with supported cards can also use their smartwatches at any contactless terminal nationwide. The Philippines is now the fifth Southeast Asian market to adopt the platform after Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. The rollout uses Visa tokenisation technology to replace actual card numbers with secure digital tokens to minimise fraud. Visa Philippines Country Manager Jeffrey Navarro stated:…

GoTyme Bank has launched an international remittance feature allowing users to execute digital transfers using the Wise network. The service enables customers to send funds directly from their mobile application to more than 200 countries and territories. Users can now process these international payments across 8 different global currencies without opening separate foreign accounts. The supported currencies include the Australian dollar (AUD), Chinese yuan (CNY), British pound (GBP), Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), South Korean won (KRW), Singapore dollar (SGD), and US dollar (USD). The digital banking provider recorded an 85% increase in unique users accessing its international payment features…

The Securities and Exchange Commission just recently approved the merger of BancNet and the Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC), which officially creates a unified infrastructure company under the name Payments Network of the Philippines Inc (PNPI), designed to strengthen the local digital payments ecosystem. The latest corporate approval follows an earlier authorisation from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Company representatives announced that the operational merger officially took effect on 1 June 2026. According to InsiderPH, BancNet remains the surviving legal entity following the merger, but the company will retain the BancNet brand for its automated teller machine (ATM) network operations. They…

Maya is accelerating the shift toward digital government services across the Philippines, as it recently processed more than PHP 24 billion worth of Pag-IBIG transactions for the national housing fund in 2025. According to InsiderPH, the company managed over 3.5 million individual transactions through the Virtual Pag-IBIG application. This performance represents a nearly 20% growth in transaction volume and a 38% increase in overall value from 2024. The agency recognised the financial technology firm as a top collecting partner for the third consecutive year. The growth highlights how modern payment infrastructure is becoming central to efficient public service delivery. Members…

MYEG Philippines has formalised a strategic quadripartite partnership with the Professional Regulation Commission alongside the Bureau of the Treasury and LandBank to integrate the digital payment and collection system of MYEG into the national licensure portal. This integration provides citizens with a faster and more accessible payment solution for their professional transactions. The collaboration aims to strengthen the digitalisation of government services nationwide. Filipinos can now settle their required professional fees and electronic documentary stamp taxes through the newly integrated system. The system supports applications for licensure examinations as well as initial registrations and license renewals. Users gain access to 100,000…

The National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines coordinated an entrapment operation that resulted in the arrest of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) director. Authorities apprehended the official for allegedly extorting funds from a private corporation. The commission immediately placed the director under preventive suspension while the official investigation continues. Officials assured the public that regular operations at the agency will carry on as usual despite the recent development. SEC Chairperson, Francis Lim, stated that the commission takes all allegations of misconduct and public trust breaches very seriously. “As overseer of the corporate sector and regulator of the capital…