Western Union and JuanPay have partnered to expand access to international money transfer services and remittance across the Philippines, with an initial rollout covering around 1,400 of JuanPay’s roughly 2,000 company-owned and franchise-operated outlets nationwide. The companies signed the partnership on September 2, 2026, at Western Union’s office in Quezon City. The arrangement combines Western Union’s network, which spans more than 200 countries and territories, with JuanPay’s reach in provincial markets and communities with strong ties to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). JuanPay’s outlets already offer services such as bills and loan payments, government transactions, and pharmacy services; customers will now…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the initial public offering of Mynt, Inc., the parent company of GCash, for up to PHP 92.32 billion. Mynt becomes the first company to use the Commission’s lower public float requirement for large issuers. At a meeting on September 3, the SEC En Banc resolved to render effective Mynt’s registration statement, covering up to 66.9 billion common shares, subject to the company meeting certain remaining requirements. Lower Public Float The SEC granted Mynt’s request for a reduced minimum public float of 12%, instead of the standard 15%. It falls under SEC Memorandum…

Cross-border payments are expected to reach US$290 trillion by 2030, but moving money across markets is still harder than it should be. Banks, wallets, cards, real-time payment systems, stablecoins and digital asset wallets are all growing. The challenge now is not adding more rails. It is making them work together across currencies, regulations and local payment networks. This webinar will bring together thought leaders to explore: How global payments are shifting from traditional rails to connected ecosystems Why more payment choice is creating new challenges around liquidity, compliance and customer access Where stablecoins and digital assets fit into real cross-border…

SEON has partnered with Exist Software Labs, a Philippines-based technology and systems integration firm, giving Exist’s banking, fintech, payments and e-commerce clients access to SEON’s fraud prevention, identity verification and AML compliance technology. SEON described the partnership as part of its continued investment in Asia-Pacific, pointing to the Philippines as one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital financial services markets, where rising fraud and compliance demands are following the shift toward online transactions. Through the partnership, Exist can offer clients SEON’s full platform, covering fraud detection and risk scoring, customer and payment screening, AML transaction monitoring, identity verification, and case management…

De La Salle University (DLSU) and GCash have launched the NextGen Tech Builders Program, an industry-designed fintech engineering elective bringing real-world technology practices into the university classroom. DLSU undergraduate students will get hands-on experience with the technologies and development practices used to build and operate large-scale digital platforms, starting when DLSU’s Term 1 classes begin on September 3, 2026. Through the elective, students will learn technologies commonly used in fintech development, including Java, Spring Boot, cloud computing, and microservices. GCash will provide course materials and cloud-based lab environments, and the program includes a fintech capstone project where students apply what…

Security Bank has partnered with healthcare procurement platform Dr. Bidder to provide financing for medical equipment purchases in the Philippines. Healthcare providers using the Dr. Bidder platform can explore Security Bank’s financing options when investing in new equipment. Applications remain subject to the bank’s standard credit assessment and approval processes. The partnership combines equipment procurement and medical equipment financing within the Dr. Bidder platform, reducing the number of separate processes healthcare providers must manage. “At Security Bank, our BetterBanking promise is to make banking simple, fast, and personal. Healthcare providers make critical investments every day to improve patient outcomes, and…

The Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI) has connected QR Ph to Alipay+, Ant International’s unified wallet gateway, letting international consumers pay Filipino merchants using their home e-wallets and banking apps. The integration supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ digital payments transformation goals and opens cross-border commerce to the 2.5 million merchants and SMEs already accepting QR Ph. Merchants don’t need to change anything on their end. Consumers using Alipay+ partner apps can scan existing QR Ph codes to pay directly, giving Filipino businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises, a way to serve international travelers and digital consumers without new…

UnionBank will inject PHP 1 billion in fresh capital into its thrift banking subsidiary, City Savings Bank, Inc. (CitySavings), to support its growth and ongoing operations, according to BusinessWorld. UnionBank’s board approved the infusion during a meeting on August 28, though the move remains subject to regulatory approval. The infusion follows a difficult year for CitySavings. The thrift bank booked a net loss of PHP 605.11 million in 2025, reversing the PHP 1.28 billion profit it posted in 2024, according to its own annual report. Despite the loss, CitySavings has continued growing its balance sheet. It was the third largest…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to require domestic systemically important banks to maintain access to its Discount Window Facility (DWF) and test that access every year, according to Philstar. These reforms aim to speed up liquidity support during periods of funding stress. The DWF is a short-term credit facility banks can tap for liquidity, using eligible customer loans or government and BSP securities as collateral. Systemically important banks, those whose size and interconnections make them critical to the wider financial system, will need to maintain a DWF line and undergo an annual access test, with three months to…

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) reported that bank deposits reached PHP 22.04 trillion by end-March 2026, up 9.8% year-on-year, or by PHP 1.97 trillion from PHP 20.1 trillion a year earlier. The growth marks a sharp acceleration from the 5.3% rise recorded a year earlier, a year after PDIC doubled its maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) to PHP 1 million in March 2025. The acceleration has built steadily since that policy change. Deposits grew 7.3% by September 2025 and 7.1% for the full year, before climbing to 9.8% in this latest report, based on PDIC’s own quarterly releases. Individuals…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), together with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Open Ownership, trained 45 Philippine investigators on using beneficial ownership data to trace assets and identify the people behind complex corporate structures. The training ran from August 4 to 6 in Pasig City, organised by UNODC and Open Ownership in cooperation with the SEC’s Anti-Money Laundering Division. Participants included financial intelligence analysts, regulators and anti-corruption prosecutors from the SEC, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. A delegation from Papua New Guinea also joined for…

Fuse Financing, GCash’s lending arm, is adding facial verification to GLoan, a check designed to stop unauthorised loans even when a borrower’s login details have already been compromised. The system asks for a Selfie Scan during higher-risk loan requests, confirming that the person applying is the actual account holder. The check is adaptive, triggering mainly when a transaction looks risky, so most loan requests continue without the extra step. The feature builds on GCash’s existing Security Center, which already lets users lock their accounts, lock specific funds, and manage subscriptions from within the app. Fuse has also added a Loan…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is letting banks offer time deposits as an investment option under the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) programme, adding a familiar, low-risk product to a lineup that has so far leaned on market-linked instruments. Memorandum No. M-2026-044, issued on 20 August 2026 by BSP Deputy Governor Lyn I. Javier, recognises deposits as PERA-eligible instruments under the Manual of Regulations for Banks, in line with the PERA Act (Republic Act No. 9505). A PERA time deposit takes the legal form of an ordinary bank time deposit and stays subject to the same banking laws that…

South Asialink Finance Corporation (SAFC) has formalised a partnership with EastWest Bank, giving customers another way to settle payments through EastWest Online or over the counter at 392 of the bank’s branches nationwide. “Our customers require payment options that fit how they operate. Whether that means walking into a nearby bank branch or settling payment online after business hours, EastWest Bank’s facility gives them that reach,” said SAFC President and CEO Maricel D. Dejongoy. “As we grow our branch network, our payment infrastructure has to keep pace.” Under the agreement, EastWest’s Bills Collect facility accepts cash and check payments from…

BPI Wealth, the asset and wealth management arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, has selected BlackRock’s Aladdin investment and wealth management platform to strengthen its asset and wealth management capabilities. The move is part of BPI Wealth’s broader push to modernise its advisory services, data-driven insights and investment solutions for a growing client base. Aladdin will let BPI Wealth bring risk analytics, portfolio management tools and operational workflows into a single system, helping it manage complexity across multi-asset portfolios while delivering more precise, timely investment insights for clients’ onshore and offshore managed portfolios. “Selecting Aladdin marks a pivotal…

AsiaPay has partnered with PGA Insurance to integrate its PesoPay payment gateway into the insurer’s online booking engine, giving policyholders an automated, secure way to pay for insurance purchased through its website or mobile app. Customers can now pay using cards, e-wallets, internet banking or installments, with a faster checkout process than before. The integration also gives PGA Insurance a unified dashboard to validate order payment details without switching between multiple consoles, letting staff verify orders and manage collections more efficiently. “This integration will help expand online sales share and boost overall insurance turnover, while saving significant labor costs for…

Mynt, the operator of GCash, has added HSBC and CLSA as international joint bookrunners for its potential PHP 92.32 billion initial public offering, according to InsiderPH. The two banks join Jefferies in that role, while Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and UBS remain joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, based on Mynt’s latest listing prospectus. BPI Capital and BDO Capital remain the domestic lead underwriters. The maximum offer price of P10 per share and the total number of shares on offer are unchanged. Alongside the expanded banking syndicate, Mynt pushed several key offer dates deeper into October. Pricing moves to October…

GCash has launched Digital Tax Refund, a feature that lets outbound Filipino travelers receive eligible tax refunds instantly and directly in Philippine pesos through the app. The service is powered by Alipay+ and Global Blue, GCash’s global tax refund partner. The feature is initially available across 16 countries: Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland, with more countries expected to follow. To use it, travelers need a fully verified GCash account. Travelers still go through the usual airport tax refund process, presenting their passport, flight ticket, refund form,…

Janos Schwellach is joining Maya as Director of Data Science and AI, according to a LinkedIn post announcing his move to the Philippines. Schwellach previously worked as a Principal Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, where he advised companies on AI and cloud adoption. In his post, Schwellach described Maya as one of the Philippines’ leading fintech platforms, pointing to its user base and the depth of financial data it generates through credit decisions, fraud detection, payments and personalisation. He said the country’s largely underbanked, fast-growing market offers significant opportunity for financial technology done well. “After years of helping companies…

OwnBank, The Rural Bank of Cavite City, Inc., has named Don Niño Santos as its new President and CEO, according to Asian Banking & Finance. The technology-enabled rural bank said the appointment supports its push to accelerate digital banking growth and expand financial access across the Philippines. Santos moves up from his role as OwnBank’s Chief Risk Officer. He brings more than 27 years of leadership experience across banking, fintech, telecommunications, risk management and regulatory compliance. Before joining OwnBank, he held senior roles at Globe Telecom, including Group Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of GCash, and earlier held…