MarCoPay, an e-money platform for Filipino seafarers, has partnered with compliance firm Sumsub to strengthen fraud prevention and support its compliance with the Philippines’ Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), Sumsub announced. MarCoPay lets seafarers and their families receive salaries and manage and transfer funds through its app. A joint venture between Japanese shipping company NYK Line and Philippine conglomerate Transnational Diversified Group, it has operated as a BSP-registered e-money issuer since 2019, BusinessWorld reported. Checks From Sign-up to Every Transaction MarCoPay will use Sumsub’s document-based identity verification, liveness detection and anti-money laundering (AML) screening to onboard customers. Sumsub says it…

Maya is now targeting an initial public offering (IPO) in 2027, with chair Manuel V. Pangilinan pushing for a listing in the Philippines even if the company also lists overseas, BusinessWorld reported. The new timeline pushes back an earlier target of the second half of 2026, Manila Bulletin noted. Maya has not yet announced a final listing structure or schedule. His comments come a week after the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) urged Maya to follow GCash with a Philippines IPO. PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon floated a dual listing as a compromise between Pangilinan and Maya’s foreign investors. Nasdaq,…

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is cutting jobs at its digital subsidiaries, UnionDigital Bank and UBX, as it prepares to fold both into the parent bank, InsiderPH reported. UnionBank did not say how many employees are affected, stressing that the changes apply to the subsidiaries rather than its main banking operations. In a statement on 28 October, the bank said the integration “will involve organisational changes, including adjustments to workforce requirements.” UnionBank said it is supporting affected staff, including helping them explore openings across the wider Aboitiz Group. “Many actually have outstanding offers already,” it added. Part of the…

He sold UnionPay to Fifth Avenue jewellers with a crystal logo. Now Jia Hang is betting stablecoins will make payment equal settlement. Jia Hang is Executive Chairman of DCS Group, the Singapore company that started life as Diners Club Singapore in 1973. He has spent more than two decades in payments, starting at the People’s Bank of China in Shenzhen, where he wrote the rules for auditing banks’ computer systems. He went on to build UnionPay’s business across the Americas and helped shape Ant Group’s international strategy, including its partner wallets in Southeast Asia. In this episode of Fintech Fireside…

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) wants Maya to follow GCash with an initial public offering (IPO) in the Philippines, PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “Let’s work on Maya, now that GCash has been listed already,” Monzon said in an interview. A Local or Overseas Listing Monzon said Maya chair Manuel V. Pangilinan wants the company listed in the Philippines. However, its private equity investors, which include Tencent and KKR, prefer an overseas offering, possibly to secure a better valuation. A dual listing could satisfy both sides. Monzon recalled that Pangilinan wants a…

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) are among the local banks interested in buying CIMB Group’s Philippine business, Bloomberg cited, citing people familiar with the matter. Binding bids are due before the end of October, and other parties have also shown interest, the people said. BPI declined to comment, while CIMB and Metrobank did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment. Bloomberg first reported earlier this month that CIMB was exploring a sale of the business, in a deal that could value it at up to US$200 million. CIMB has not confirmed the…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has appointed its former President and CEO Eugene Acevedo as corporate vice chair, effective 26 October, InsiderPH reported. RCBC’s board approved the appointment at its regular meeting the same day. Acevedo fills the post left by former prime minister Cesar Virata, who died on 2 October at the age of 95. Succeeding a Long-Serving Vice Chair Virata had been an RCBC director since 1995 and the board’s corporate vice chair for 26 years, the bank said in a stock exchange filing. Before joining RCBC, he served as finance minister from 1970 to 1986 and as…

Four more banks in the Philippines are expected to support Apple Pay around November, bringing the total to eight by the end of 2026. Mastercard Philippines Country Manager Jason Crasto shared the timeline with reporters, as The Chronicle reported. Crasto declined to name the incoming banks, but said he expects more to join early next year, BusinessWorld noted. He spoke after Mastercard signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Trade and Industry’s E-commerce Bureau on Monday to help micro, small and medium enterprises build their digital capabilities. Four Banks So Far Apple Pay launched in the Philippines in…

The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has disqualified five money changers from registering with the central bank after finding they operated as money service businesses (MSBs) without registration, the BSP said. The disqualification also extends to any sole proprietorships owned or controlled by the owners of the five businesses. The Five Disqualified Money Changers The BSP named the businesses as Shara-P Money Changing Services and JNJ Money Changing Services, both in Makati City, and Downtown Money Changer in Santa Rita, Pampanga. The other two are Ponio Money Changing Services in Lubao, Pampanga, and Jamelah-Arham Gift Shop,…

The Office of the President has signed an agreement with LANDBANK to adopt the LANDBANK Visa Government Purchase Card (GPC) for official spending, Visa announced. Deputy Executive Secretary Dennis Santiago and LANDBANK First Vice President Kristine Marie Cuevas signed the memorandum of agreement on 29 September at Malacañang. The office that signed handles internal support services for the Office of the President. Card Payments Instead of Cash Advances The GPC lets authorised government staff pay for eligible official expenses by card instead of cash or cheques. Each agency sets its own spending limits and can restrict the card to approved…

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) will integrate its digital banking subsidiary, UnionDigital Bank, and fintech unit UBX into the parent bank, Daily Tribune told. UnionBank’s board approved the plan, which still needs approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other regulators. The bank has not announced a completion timeline. “By integrating UnionDigital and UBX with UnionBank, we are strengthening our digital proposition, creating greater efficiencies, and accelerating our ability to serve more Filipinos at scale,” said UnionBank President and CEO Ana Aboitiz Delgado. For now, UnionDigital customers can keep using their accounts, deposits, loans and app without…

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will release two months’ worth of UPLIFT cash aid in November. The payout covers the September and October assistance for qualified beneficiaries, Manila Bulletin reported. UPLIFT provides PHP 2,000 a month from July to December to Group 2 and Group 3 beneficiaries. It is part of the government’s response to the national energy emergency. Digital Payouts on 6 November Group 2 covers poor and near-poor households identified through the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Community-Based Monitoring System. Those with registered GCash accounts, other e-wallets or bank accounts will receive PHP 4,000 on 6 November.…

GCash is marking its 22nd birthday with promos running until 31 October, including PHP 10 chicken meals and a raffle for 100 motorcycles, parent company Mynt said. The celebration, which GCash calls a “pasalamat” (thanksgiving) blowout, began on 20 October. Free MRT-3 rides for GCash users, offered from 20 to 23 October, have already ended. PHP 10 Chicken Meals Until 31 October, users can claim a limited-time PHP 10 voucher in the GCash app for chicken meals at select branches of KFC, Chooks to Go, Andok’s, Baliwag and other partners across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Offers vary by brand and…

Maya has re-enabled on-chain crypto deposits, letting verified users transfer supported tokens into the app from external wallets and exchanges, BitPinas reported. Users can again move crypto into Maya from local platforms such as Coins.ph and the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), as well as international exchanges like Coinbase. Inbound transfers had faced intermittent access before the fix. In-app crypto trading and conversion to Philippine pesos continued to work during that time. Receiving Crypto in the Maya App Users can open the crypto section of the Maya app, select the token they want to receive and choose a network, according…

Consumer finance and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform BillEase has announced Billease Deals today, a marketplace for sellers to list for free while shoppers arrive with pre-approved credit. Deals, which was available only in the Billease app in the past, can now be accessed publicly through deals.billease.ph, running on any browser. The distributor On Deals sets the price, lists the product, and handles fulfilment and delivery. Billease, meanwhile, focuses on bringing the shopper and provides instalment financing upon checkout. Billease only earns when the customer opts to pay in instalments. Kurt Molina, the Head of POS Products at Billease,…

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has named its consumer banking head Ginbee Go as its next president and CEO, effective April 2027. InsiderPH reported that Go will succeed TG Limcaoco on 26 April 2027 following the bank’s annual stockholders’ meeting, subject to regulatory approvals. Limcaoco has led BPI since April 2021 and will remain on its board after stepping down as CEO. He will also assume governance roles at other Ayala Group companies, with details to be announced later. Go has spent 23 years at BPI and currently serves as EVP and Head of Consumer Banking. She previously led…

No institution moves into digital assets until it knows who will hold them and what happens to those assets if that custodian fails. This panel looks at custody as the gating issue for institutional adoption in Malaysia, where licensing is in place but enforcement is still catching up with Hong Kong and Singapore. The panellists see banks entering the space as partners that grow the market, while tokenised assets raise a new test of whether the token matches the record behind it. On safety, they treat insurance as the last line of defence, with segregation and layered key controls doing…

GCash users can fund their crypto accounts without cash-in fees and transfer digital assets to external wallets through GCrypto, ABS-CBN reported. The service is powered by Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), a licensed cryptocurrency platform. Users can transfer money from their GCash balances into their GCrypto trading wallets at no additional cost. Cryptocurrency purchase prices already include service and platform fees. The platform also supports round-the-clock trading in up to 55 cryptocurrencies, according to GCash. Users can send and receive supported digital assets through external wallets and exchanges without first selling them. Outgoing transfers carry fees that vary depending on…

GCash is exploring a move into digital banking after its parent company Mynt raised PHP 60.9 billion (US$965.4 million) in the Philippines’ largest initial public offering (IPO). PhilStar reported that GCash’s Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations, Joseph Samuel Tang, sees potential for the move. He cited the platform’s established payments network and growing lending business as key strengths. The platform has approximately 41.5 million monthly active users. It processed PHP 9.8 trillion (US$155.36 billion) in transactions during the first half of 2026, up 23 percent year on year. Its credit portfolio has reached PHP 70.5 billion (US$1.12 billion),…

Can stablecoins make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible and where do banks fit in? At Luno’s LIDAC conference, moderator Vincent Fong joins Eddy Christian Ng from Tether, Milind Sanghavi from Xweave, and Gerard Ang from Standard Chartered to explore how stablecoins and tokenized money could reshape the way businesses and individuals move money. The panel discusses: Real-world uses for stablecoins in remittances, treasury, and supplier payments How stablecoins compare with tokenized deposits The opportunities and challenges for ringgit and other local-currency stablecoins Why liquidity, regulation, and collaboration matter for adoption From Malaysia to the wider region, the conversation…