Filipino consumers and small businesses will soon have faster access to global cross-border money transfers following a new partnership between Visa and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). According to a recent announcement by Visa, the two companies are rolling out Visa Direct to enable real-time push payments across the country. The initiative allows bank clients to send funds directly to international bank accounts, cards, and digital wallets. This BPI Visa cross-border integration operates directly through the mobile application of the bank, reducing processing times for overseas transactions. Joel De Vera, Head of Strategy, Products, and Support for BPI…

Less than 1% of transactions are agentic today. Trulioo’s CPO believes that could reach 75% within a year, and most of the industry has no trust framework in place. Zach Cohen is the Chief Product Officer at Trulioo, a global identity verification platform that helps financial services companies verify identities and govern transactions across international markets. He leads product strategy at the intersection of AI governance, fraud prevention, and digital identity, and joins FNN to explain what the financial industry is missing as agentic commerce moves from theory to live deployment. In this episode: Why agentic commerce could jump from…

Australian fintech company Peppermint Innovation is accelerating the rollout of its digital wallet and payments services into the Philippines following a surge in transaction volumes and strategic capital injections. According to a report by The Globe and Mail, the company is expanding its footprint as usage of its regulated platforms continues to climb. Peppermint recently secured a strategic investment of AU$ 2.1 million from local sector participants, aiming to use the funding to support the ongoing expansion of its payments services into the Philippines. The funding aims to scale the bizmoto digital wallet and accelerate active user acquisition across the…

TrueMoney has officially ceased its commercial services and operations in the Philippines as of 30 April 2026, marking a planned exit from the local market. The market exit was confirmed in a company statement and recently reported by Tech in Asia. The decision to wind down TrueMoney Philippines operations follows a decade of providing digital financial services in the country. Over the past ten years, the fintech firm served more than five million customers nationwide. It also empowered over 20,000 small and medium enterprises by expanding access to digital payments and remittances. Its core product offerings included mobile top-ups, lending,…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has issued an advisory against a fraudulent online platform performing scams by impersonating a legitimate retail corporation, Shopwise Online Work Platform. The fake platform is said to have deceived the public through a job offer and a recharging scam. A recent SEC Philippines warning clarified that the bogus entity pretending to be SHOPWISE and conducting scams has no connection to the registered retailer Shopwise Inc. According to the regulator, the group recruits individuals by offering fake part-time jobs through social media platforms like Facebook and messaging applications. The scheme requires victims…

In the Philippines, fintech usage is expanding. E-wallets now serve more than 70 million users, while, InstaPay, the country’s instant payment system, recorded 4.6 billion transactions in 2025, marking more than a threefold increase from 1.4 billion in 2024 and reflecting the growing shift toward digital payments. This burgeoning landscape is now witnessing a rise in domestic fintech events, enabling industry stakeholders to exchange insights, connect, and explore the latest innovations happening in the space. Among the events scheduled for the remainder of 2026, the following ten are standing as the most significant gatherings. These event are expected to bring…

Banks across Asia Pacific are navigating a period of rapid change in the payment ecosystem. Mobile wallets, digital commerce, and real-time payments have become part of everyday financial activity. The shift toward alternative payment methods is accelerating, with Accenture estimating that up to US$13 trillion in transaction value could move away from traditional banking channels by 2030. At the same time, cards continue to play a critical role in powering online transactions, digital wallets, and international payments.  For many financial institutions in the region, however, innovation is constrained by legacy infrastructure. Core systems that were originally designed decades ago remain…

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission has welcomed the upcoming inclusion of peso-denominated government securities into the JP Morgan Government Bond Index for Emerging Markets. The integration takes effect on 29 January 2027, marking the country’s first entry into a benchmark that global fund managers rely on to monitor emerging debt markets. Nine domestic government securities will enter the index. These represent an aggregate outstanding value of approximately US$49 billion, giving the country a projected weight of 1.78%. Integrating a Philippines JP Morgan bond allocation into the index is expected to act as a catalyst for passive and benchmark-driven inflows.…

Meta has introduced a new stablecoin payout option that allows eligible content creators in the Philippines to receive their earnings in USD Coin, as detailed on the Meta Business Help Centre. The Meta Philippines stablecoin integration enables users to link compatible third-party digital wallets directly to their Facebook payout accounts. The USD-pegged transactions are processed on the Solana and Polygon blockchain networks. Financial infrastructure company Stripe facilitates the backend settlement for these payments. Creators who receive an invitation via the Facebook app can connect local mobile wallets such as GCash and Coins.ph, alongside international platforms like MetaMask and Binance. The…

What does it take to launch a full digital bank in under a year and have it outperform 70 physical branches? Bank Muamalat’s Atlas did exactly that. Built in just 9 months, it onboarded 61% new-to-bank customers in its first six months and delivers the same customer acquisition power as 70 physical branches from a single app. Vincent Fong sits down with Hazrizal Hasan, Head of Digital Banking at Bank Muamalat Malaysia, and Chirag Amla, Principal Solutions Architect for APAC at Mambu, to unpack how they pulled it off and what comes next for Islamic banking. In this episode: How…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) recorded steady financial performance and profits in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, supported by a growing loan portfolio. BusinessWorld highlighted this, reporting a 12% rise in net income to PHP 2.7 billion for the period. An analysis of the bank’s consolidated balance sheet shows total assets reached PHP 1.52 trillion by the end of March. The Q1 profits made by RCBC in 2026 were underpinned by robust credit expansion, with the gross total loan portfolio hitting PHP 786.89 billion. Meanwhile, deposit liabilities stood at PHP 972.03 billion, providing a stable funding base for the…

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is shifting its regulatory approach to address emerging structural risks in the digital lending and credit market. The regulator is advancing a preventive regulatory model through proposed guidelines for online lending platforms. The new framework aims to establish structured market entry, strengthen platform-level oversight, and enforce rules on data governance. Speaking at the 44th National Credit Congress in Pasay City, SEC Commissioner Javey Paul D. Francisco noted a sharp rise in consumer complaints related to the Philippines lending sector. These complaints primarily involve unregistered platforms, unfair debt collection practices, high interest rates, and…

UnionBank of the Philippines reported a net income of PHP 3.8 billion for the first quarter of 2026, marking a 167% increase from the same period last year. The surge in UnionBank Philippines Q1 profits was primarily driven by strong loan growth and higher digital transaction volumes. Net revenues reached PHP 21.7 billion, representing an 11.8% year-on-year increase. The bank also expanded its total customer base by 7.6% to reach 18.9 million users. Consumer lending, which makes up 60% of the bank’s total loan portfolio, saw unsecured products grow by 19.2% to PHP 153.1 billion. Institutional loans also expanded by…

Philippine National Bank (PNB) reported a net profits of PHP 6.37 billion for the first quarter, marking a 5% increase from the same period last year. According to a statement released by the bank, higher loan volumes and disciplined expense management drove the growth. A review of the 2026 data from the Philippine National Bank profits shows that net interest income rose by 6% to PHP 13.46 billion. Net service fees and commission income also grew by 6% to reach PHP 1.51 billion. The bank expanded its total loan portfolio by 15% year on year to PHP 755.87 billion, reflecting…

UnionBank of the Philippines has launched a fully digital onboarding feature for the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) on its mobile app. Developed in collaboration with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and ATRAM Trust Corporation, the feature allows users to open a voluntary retirement fund without submitting physical documents. The digital rollout addresses the need for supplementary retirement funds beyond mandatory state pension programmes like the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System. The new feature aims to boost UnionBank Philippines PERA savings by providing a secure and accessible platform for early financial planning. “By fully digitising…

Atome has partnered with payment aggregator Bayad to enable in-app bill payments for its users in the Philippines. The integration allows customers to settle essential expenses (including water, electricity, internet, and government contributions) directly within the Atome app. The move aims to streamline financial management by reducing the need to switch between multiple payment platforms. Users who process an Atome Philippines bill payment will also earn rewards points for their transactions. “Bayad is committed to democratising bill payment access across the Philippines,” said Lawrence Ferrer, President and CEO, Bayad. “This deep collaboration exemplifies how fintech innovation can really drive financial…

The Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to strengthen cross-border economic cooperation, focusing heavily on trade and financial connectivity. The commitment was made during the eighth Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation meeting in Jakarta, as reported by the Philippine News Agency. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono co-chaired the discussions. While the talks covered multiple diplomatic fronts, advancing digital financial integration emerged as a mutual priority. To support growing regional trade, the nations plan to improve the infrastructure for Philippines-Indonesia payments transactions. This move aligns with ongoing ASEAN initiatives aimed at linking domestic real-time payment…

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued advisories against eight unregistered cryptocurrency trading platforms for soliciting investments without the necessary licenses. Issued on 31 March 2026, the warnings cover Vest, Ostium, Deriv, Pacifica, Aevo, Orderly Network, dYdX, and gTrade. The regulator stated that these illegal crypto platforms allow investors in the Philippines to open accounts and trade digital assets and derivative instruments. However, the SEC noted that none of the eight operators is a registered corporation in the country. They also lack the authority to act as brokers or dealers under Section 28 of the Securities Regulation Code.…

GCash has blocked over 4,900 merchant accounts suspected of using a tactic known as “quishing” to steal payments and user data. Quishing, or QR phishing, involves fraudsters using manipulated QR codes to redirect consumers to malicious payment gateways. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently flagged the scheme as a growing threat in the digital payments sector. GCash noted that fraudsters in the Philippines carry out these scams by embedding fake QR codes into posters and receipts. Scanning these QR codes directs users to fake login pages that mimic official e-wallet or banking sites, potentially leading to unauthorised transfers or malware…

Metrobank has increased its daily transfer limit for InstaPay transactions to PHP 100,000, effective 22 April 2026. The adjustment doubles the previous daily cap of PHP 50,000. Customers can now complete higher-value transfers within a single day without needing to spread payments across multiple dates. While the daily aggregate cap has increased, the per-transaction limit remains at PHP 50,000. This setup allows users to make multiple transfers throughout the day to reach the new maximum. The bank noted that the Metrobank Philippines InstaPay limit adjustment aims to support customers managing urgent expenses, allowances, and small business payments. In addition to…