Skyro has secured a PHP 370 million credit facility from Sterling Bank of Asia. This funding aims to enhance Skyro’s operations and expand access to its financial solutions for Filipinos. The partnership was made official through a credit agreement signing. Nasim Aliev expressed gratitude for Sterling Bank’s confidence in Skyro’s mission, stating that the partnership will strengthen their ability to provide accessible financing, bringing financial empowerment to underserved Filipinos. Jose S. Ison, Jr. of Sterling Bank highlighted the shared vision and noted that Skyro offers customer-friendly loan products, expressing happiness to support their goal of helping Filipinos achieve financial aspirations.…

Maya announced it achieved net income profitability in the first quarter of 2025, building on the strong financial momentum established in December 2024. The company also saw accelerated topline growth in Q1 2025. It is due to revenue growth exceeding 100% in the full year 2024 compared to 2023. Since launching its digital bank in 2022, Maya’s net revenues have increased over fivefold, culminating in achieving profitability in December 2024. This milestone reflects consistent growth across digital banking, payments, and lending. The robust performance in profitability growth for Maya in Q1 2025 was primarily driven by significant lending activity and…

Is the Philippines approaching a tipping point in financial crime? A report released by regtech firm Tookitaki and the AFC Ecosystem, in partnership with ABCOMP Philippines, unveiled the deepening complexities of the country’s financial crime landscape. The 2024 Annual Philippines Financial Crime Landscape Report examined the significant rise in sophisticated threats that exploited gaps in systems, regulations, and public awareness. Despite the implementation of strengthened measures such as the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) and increased regulatory oversight of digital platforms and money service businesses, criminals continued to evolve at a rapid pace—finding new ways to exploit loopholes and bypass…

Pru Life UK is actively seeking partnerships with banks and fintech companies in the Philippines to broaden its reach and extend social protection to more Filipinos. Prudential plc CEO Anil Wadhwani emphasised the company’s interest in bancassurance and collaborations with non-traditional players like e-wallets to access underserved markets beyond its established agency model. While Pru Life UK boasts a substantial agency force, it currently lacks bank partnerships, unlike several competitors who have leveraged bancassurance agreements. “That is something that we are pursuing in the Philippines. I would love to have something with banks. I’m also ready to kind of explore…

J.P. Morgan is set to introduce its invoice reconciliation service powered by AI in the Philippines this May, underscoring the country’s pivotal role in its Asia Pacific payments innovation strategy. This launch is part of a wider regional rollout across ASEAN, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. Max Neukirchen, Global Co-Head of Payments at J.P. Morgan, highlighted the Philippines’ rapid digital adoption and thriving fintech sector as key reasons for prioritising the market “This award-winning solution has already made a splash in India by improving cash conversion cycles by 50% and unlocking USD $1.1 million in working capital for this…

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has taken a significant step in enhancing its digital offerings with the launch of its first-ever e-Wallet. This new digital platform provides passengers with a convenient way to manage their various PAL electronic cards in one centralised account. The e-Wallet supports the consolidation of several types of PAL e-Cards. These include the PAL e-Gift Card, the Dear PAL Miles e-Card, Travel Credits, and even Compensation e-Cards or vouchers. This move will simplify how travellers keep track of their digital assets with the airline. Beyond just storage, the PAL e-Wallet also functions as a versatile alternative payment method.…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have joined forces in a two-year initiative to develop the moveable asset finance (MAF) market in the Philippines. This partnership aims to increase credit access for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the agricultural sector by promoting the use of assets like equipment and inventory as loan collateral. This move addresses the challenge faced by businesses lacking traditional real estate collateral and seeks to broaden financial inclusion, particularly in underserved rural areas. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. highlighted the significance of this collaboration. This move addresses the…

Libera Global AI and Kaya Credit have announced a strategic partnership to introduce AI-powered retail trade analytics to the Philippines. The collaboration will provide advanced analytical tools to the Philippine retail market, where micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), known locally as ‘sari-sari stores’, account for a significant portion of retail activity. This market sees over USD $70 billion in FMCG and CPG products sold through these stores. The partnership aims to provide both brands and MSME retailers with data-driven insights to improve business decision-making. It can also help them to optimise stock availability, potentially increasing sales and efficiency. The…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has announced the opening of applications for its SEC Strategic Sandbox (StratBox), focussing on Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs). The aim of this initiative is to foster responsible innovation in the financial services sector, especially in the emerging field of Crypto-Asset Services. This is detailed in SEC Memorandum Circular No. 09-2024. The StratBox program provides a controlled environment. Within this environment, CASPs can test and pilot their products, services, and business models. By doing so, the SEC Philippines through its sandbox seeks to gather critical insights and data on the risks and…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines and the BDO Foundation have collaborated to enhance investor protection and financial literacy by introducing public education materials focused on avoiding financial investment scams. The SEC and BDO Foundation launched two investor protection videos on April 4th at the SEC Headquarters in Makati City. These videos aim to inform the public about the warning signs of potential investment scams. The organisations intend that this knowledge will help individuals protect themselves from fraudulent schemes. The SEC and BDO Foundation plan to distribute the materials through programs, training sessions, and seminars. The Commission…

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is set to expand its network by opening an additional 70 locations this year. These new branches are “phygital,” blending physical and digital banking services. This move is part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to modernise its branch network. By the end of 2025, BPI anticipates having a total of 140 phygital branches. As of Monday’s statement, the bank already operates 59 phygital branches across the country. In addition to these, they also have nine prime phygital locations and three flagship branches. Maria Cristina “Ginbee” L. Go, BPI’s Head of Consumer Banking, stated…

To enhance financial inclusion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is actively promoting the adoption of cashless transactions. The effort is said to be directed towards local government units (LGUs). According to BSP Deputy Director Maria Christina Masangkay, digital payments provide widespread benefits to communities. The BSP, in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), issued Joint Memorandum Circular 1-2022, which outlines guidelines for LGUs to participate in the Paleng-QR PH programme. This initiative by BSP, launched in 2019, facilitates direct cashless transactions between individuals and merchants, particularly in public markets and transport. “QR PH is the…

Skyro, a financial technology company, has formed a partnership with PalawanPay to provide cash loan services. PalawanPay is a financial app used by 20 million Filipinos for services such as money transfers, bill payments, and e-load top-ups.   The partnership allows PalawanPay users to apply for Skyro cash loans directly through the PalawanPay application. Upon approval, users can receive loans up to PHP 250,000 in their PalawanPay e-wallet. Skyro offers repayment terms of up to 12 months. Users can use the loan for various financial needs. Alexander Lelyanov, Skyro’s Head of Direct Sales, stated that the partnership aims to help…

The Philippines Central Bank (BSP) is preparing to launch instant cross-border payments capabilities through Project Nexus. This initiative involves collaboration with Malaysia and Japan, aiming to link their existing instant payment systems. The project also holds a longer-term vision of establishing a broader multilateral network. Mamerto Tangonan, Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), stated that Filipino merchants will soon be able to accept payments from Malaysian tourists and residents, and vice versa. “We have an instant payment system existing as far back as 2018,” he said via Zoom. “All we need to do here, technology wise, is…

7-Eleven is turning its convenience stores in the Philippines into financial service points. Philippine Seven Corp. aims to improve credit access by functioning as a front end for traditional banks. Jose Victor Paterno, President and CEO at Philippine Seven Corp., stated at the Retail Asia Summit 2025 in Manila in March, “What exactly can’t we do that a bank branch can do? We can’t do high-net-worth relationship management, but storing money, receiving deposits, cashing cheques — we can do all that.” The company intends to address the issue of financial accessibility. It is particularly for Filipinos who lack access to…

Finastra has partnered with Total Information Management Corporation (TIM Corp), a Philippines-based data centre services and IT infrastructure. The collaboration aims to improve treasury service challenges in the Philippines by combining Finastra’s Opics core treasury solution with TIM Corp’s managed services. The partnership introduces a cloud-based treasury management solution. This solution is designed to lower the total cost of ownership and simplify infrastructure management for banks. Benefits include a transition to the cloud, offering scalability and flexibility. It also provides outsourcing options to potentially boost operational and technical efficiency. Migs De Guzman, Senior Assistant Vice President at TIM Corp, stated…

Many will agree that the economics of fraud have shifted dramatically, making it more affordable than ever for fraudsters to execute large-scale operations with minimal investment. Today, anyone can access the resources needed to launch fraudulent schemes, regardless of their technical expertise. Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, coins this trend as the “democratisation of fraud” in their 2024 APAC Identity Fraud report. This shift is largely driven by Fraud-as-a-Service (FaaS) technological platforms and widely available fraud tools, which provide a range of services to facilitate cybercrime, including identity theft, account takeovers, and financial fraud. Inside APAC’s Identity Fraud Trends:…

Banks in the Philippines exhibit relatively low exposure to credit risks arising from recent US tariff increases, according to Moody’s Ratings. The credit assessment agency stated in a report dated April 7 that the impact of these tariffs on Philippine banks is “low” within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. This limited impact is attributed to the Philippines’ moderate trade engagement with the United States and its reasonably diverse economy. Moody’s identified the Philippines as having the lowest additional US tariff. The country is on the list with Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Mongolia. Consequently, banks in these economies are…

Security Bank today announced a partnership with identity security company Entrust. This collaboration focuses on enhancing the bank’s electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process, aiming to provide a more seamless and secure digital onboarding experience for customers via its new mobile app. According to the bank, the initiative supports its goals for providing secure, customer-focused banking services. The bank is implementing this change during a period of anticipated high growth in the Philippine digital banking sector. As part of changes to its digital onboarding, Security Bank is integrating the Entrust Onfido Studio platform. Such technology provides robust identity verification with…

Philippine rural bank Netbank Inc. and fintech lending application JuanHand have announced a strategic partnership today. The partnership aims to extend financial services, particularly business loans, to unbanked and underserved communities across the nation. This collaboration between the two fintech firms seeks to empower Filipinos. They want to provide innovative lending solutions tailored to their specific personal and business financing needs. Leveraging Netbank’s capabilities in embedded finance is key to the initiative. “Through embedded finance, we’re enabling JuanHand to better serve more underserved Filipinos,” stated Amiel de Sotto, Head of Lenders at Netbank. He elaborated that Netbank aims to “empower…