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…

Netbank has announced an upcoming adjustment to its transaction pricing schedule for users of its mobile application. Netbank will implement a new fee for all outgoing InstaPay transfers. Effective 1 August 2026, the digital banking platform will charge PHP 5 per transaction for these immediate fund transfers. The company previously offered this instant transfer service to other local banks completely free of charge. Despite this new pricing adjustment, several core transfer services will remain free and unlimited for all account holders. Users can continue to utilise PESONet to send money to other banks without paying any transaction charges. The bank…

Mynt has signed two strategic agreements in Tokyo, Japan, to expand digital services and promote financial inclusion across the Philippines. The company forged these partnerships in Japan during the recent state visit of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The financial technology group partnered with key shareholders, including Ayala Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and MUFG Bank. These collaborations aim to accelerate the international expansion and digital transformation of the GCash ecosystem. Executives expect the agreements to significantly boost their ongoing drive for financial inclusion. The first memorandum establishes a four-party framework focusing on value creation and scaling the application user base. This…

First Circle has secured a PHP 300 million credit facility from Taiwan-based Cathay Bank. The transaction marks the first financing partnership between the local digital lender and a Taiwanese financial institution. Company representatives stated that the funding agreement was successfully finalised in April. The new capital reinforces growing support for sustainable and inclusive business financing across the Philippines. This partnership allows Cathay Bank to expand its participation in the local market by supporting a financial technology firm. The Taiwanese institution currently ranks among the largest financial organisations in its home market. The bank continues to strengthen its regional footprint across…

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a public advisory regarding the rise of fraudulent financial activities in the Philippines. The regulatory body warned the public to exercise extreme caution when engaging in loan transactions through Telegram and similar applications. Regulators have observed a growing number of complaints involving unverified individuals conducting unauthorised lending scams. These fraudulent actors often use the names and logos of legitimate financing companies to deceive unsuspecting victims. The commission noted a common tactic where perpetrators request advance fees or processing charges prior to releasing any funds. These operations often rely on communications made solely through…

BlockShoals Technologies has secured final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to test its digital asset services under the regulator’s Strategic Sandbox (Stratbox). The clearance allows BlockShoals to operate as a crypto-asset intermediary, giving users in the Philippines access to selected products through its global virtual asset service provider (VASP) partner, Binance, subject to regulatory safeguards. This development follows the initial clearance of the company’s application in November 2025. During the first testing phase, BlockShoals will integrate its systems with Binance over a 90-day period. Once this integration is complete, the company will carry out its approved testing…

Mark Anthony Perez has rejoined the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to set up and lead its Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub. Perez announced the move in a LinkedIn post, noting that the BSP AI hub is part of the central bank’s Technology and Digital Innovation team under the Office of the Governor. In the role, which began in May 2026, he will oversee teams covering data governance and architecture, data engineering and AI platforms, and analytics and data science applications. The hub will support the BSP’s mandates across monetary policy and operations, financial supervision, currency management, payments…

Digital consumer finance platform Skyro disbursed PHP 15.8 billion (over US$280 million) in the Philippines in 2025. This volume represents a 2.6 fold increase in loan disbursements year on year. The company also doubled the number of loans issued during the twelve month period. Over the two year period from 2023 to 2025, cumulative growth reached approximately 5.9 fold in loans issued and 8.7 fold in disbursement value. Skyro provides point of sale instalment loans, cash loans, and credit lines. AI credit scoring and user expansion The number of registered users on the Skyro platform reached 6.3 million at the…