The Fintech Alliance.PH and Fintech Philippines Association (FPH) introduced the Philippines Fintech Industry Sandbox pilot which was first announced during the Singapore Fintech Festival 2020. The sandbox pilot initiative is supported by the UK’s ASEAN Economic Reform Programme (ASEAN ERP) and was inspired by the UK Innovate Finance’s Industry Sandbox Consultative Report. The Philippines Fintech Industry Sandbox is hosted on the API Exchange (APIX) platform, a cloud-based open architecture API marketplace, developed by the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN). This initiative includes close coordination with key stakeholders including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), APIX, Rural and Thrift Banks of…

Komo, a digital banking service created by EastWest Bank, has partnered with open banking solution provider Brankas to enable instant in-app deposits. With this partnership, Komo users can now instantly top-up their balance directly from the app. In order to do so, users can enter the amount they wish to top-up and select a source bank through Brankas’ secure SDK flow to deposit money to their Komo account. Through Brankas’ secure fund transfer APIs and extensive bank integration suite, customers can receive money from their choice of Philippine banks instantly in the app. Isabelle Yap, Business Lead at Komo said,…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) announced that it witnessed massive growth in its digital payments volume in the past year. The value of InstaPay and PESONet fund transfers of RCBC Online and its mobile banking app increased by 293% compared to figures in March 2020, which marks the start of community quarantine in the Philippines. RCBC said that this is 109% higher than reported total growth recorded for transactions of all participating banks and e-money issuers. Additionally, the volume of digital fund transfers that was handled by RCBC swelled by 329%. Another contactless solution that saw dramatic surges is the…

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, announced that the Union Bank of the Philippines will migrate its IT infrastructure from on-premises to cloud by 2022. The migration is intended to accelerate the bank’s digital transformation, improve customers’ digital banking experiences, and strengthen financial inclusion in the Philippines by bringing financial services to remote parts of the country. UnionBank said in a statement that it will push for a cloud-only IT transformation strategy to become the first major bank in the Philippines to be fully hosted in the cloud. When the migration is complete, UnionBank will run almost 400 mission-critical…

More than 800,000 have already signed up for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) via digital registration, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The government is urging Filipinos to sign up for the Philippine identification (PhilID), the national ID, to eliminate inefficient and expensive process of securing physical documents. Signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and its residents. The national ID shall be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and…

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has rolled out digital onboarding for its customers to enable them to open a savings account without the need to visit a physical branch. The state-run bank launched the digital onboarding system known as DOBS Mobile on May 12, 2021, which reportedly facilitates online savings account opening in 10 to 15 minutes. Using the LANDBANK app, customers need only to fill out application forms online and upload a valid identification card such as UMID, Passport, PRC ID, SSS, company ID or even school ID to open a digital savings account. The digital bank…

As the Philippines begins awarding its first digital banking licenses, incumbents are gearing up for a new era in banking, ramping up their digital capabilities to address market shifts and changing customer expectations. During a virtual panel discussion with Fintech News, experts from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI) and Backbase discussed the imminent entrance of new digital-first players in the Filipino banking landscape, sharing insights on the latest developments and industry trends. In March, BSP granted its first digital banking license to Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), a wholly-owned…

Philippines neobank Tonik announced that it has raised US$17 million in a Pre-Series B funding round. The round comes on the heels of Tonik’s public launch in March 2021, which saw it secure over US$20 million (1 billion pesos) in retail deposits in under 1 month. Led by Singapore’s iGlobe Partners, the round featured participation from existing shareholders Sequoia India, Altara Ventures, and Insignia Venture Partners as well as bringing in new investors Citius, Baring Vostok Capital Partners, and multiple Philippines family offices. Tonik said that the new funding will be used to invest aggressively in product development. The neobank…

Australian Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company Zip Co has furthered its global expansion, announcing a strategic investment in TendoPay, a BNPL provider based in the Philippines. The investment represents Zip’s first step into South East Asia, which will also act as a launchpad for the company’s expansion into the region. The company has recently established central operations and commercial teams in Singapore, in preparation for further growth. Founded in 2018, TendoPay offers digital instalment plan solutions, with a focus on responsible lending. The platform gives Filipino consumers the convenience of instalment loans for online purchases and a choice of…

PayMaya, a mobile wallet under the purview of PLDT, has become the first fintech company to adopt QR Ph for merchants that was launched by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in cooperation with BancNet and the Philippine Payments Management. Launched by the BSP on April 30, QR Ph enables businesses to accept payments from customers of other banks and financial institutions for various transactions. Merchants all over the country will soon be able to easily accept QR payments from other participating banks in addition to the PayMaya e-wallet. Other participating financial institutions for the initiative include All Bank, Asia…

Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCOM) has gone live with Temenos Transact, a core banking Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, to offer digital-first banking services in the Philippines. PBCOMobile is its mobile-only suite of services which offers a broad suite of financial solutions ranging from deposits and corporate, commercial and personal loans, to cash management solutions and investment services. Supported by Temenos, PBCOM became one of the first commercial banks in the Philippines approved by the regulator to host its core banking system in the cloud. The Temenos SaaS solution allowed PBCOM to create PBCOMobile, a self-service onboarding and origination experience for its…

Latvian fintech VIA SMS Group continues to expand its presence in Asia-Pacific by investing in the development of consumer lending brand VAMO.ph in the Philippines. The decision on further strategic expansion in the region follows successful business operations in Vietnam launched in 2019 in partnership with another well-known consumer lender TWINO. Since the company’s launch in 2019, Vietnamese VAMO.vn has issued loans with a total value of more than 3 million EUR. VAMO.ph launched its operations in Philippines in the beginning of this year, and currently the company is engaged in intensive technical development to prepare for the product public…

Businesses in the Philippines are investing in user-friendly digital experiences and improving customer analytics as they perceive customer experience and innovation as strategic imperatives and critical differentiators, according to findings of a new study by Oxford Economics, a global economic forecasting and quantitative analysis firm, and global software firm SAP SE. The study, which surveyed 600 senior executives across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, found that in the Philippines, businesses both large and small view customer experiences as vital for their survival and growth with 53% citing improving customer experience as their top primary strategic priority, followed…

Philippines neobank Tonik announced that it has tied up with PESONet to enable safe and secure electronic fund transfers to its account from other banks. Tonik users are now able to transfer funds from a PESONet participating bank to their accounts. This service is initially available via RCBC, Landbank, PSBank and CIMB, with other PESONet member banks expected to add the service in the coming months. In line with this, interbank transfer services via PESONet will be available with more banks in the coming weeks. The announcement comes at the heels of Tonik’s official launch in March 2021. The neobank…

CIMB Bank Philippines announced that it has accumulated over 40 international awards and has signed up close to 4 million customers within just a little over 2 years from opening its digital doors in the country. International finance organisations have recognised the achievements of CIMB Bank Philippines with over 15 new awards from the start of 2021. In the first 3 months of 2021, CIMB Bank Philippines signed in over 600,000 Filipinos driving deposit growth by 460% versus the same period last year. Annual average balance per customer has also increased by 235% while the average cash-in per customer grew…

FICO, a global analytics software firm, did a recent survey on identity proofing and digital banking which showed that identity theft is a tangible threat for people in the Philippines. This survey was conducted in January 2021 by an independent research company. 1,000 Filipino adults were surveyed, along with 13,000 consumers in the USA, UK, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. 6.5 percent of the respondents said that they know their identity has been stolen and used by a fraudster to open an account, while a further 5.4 percent believe it is…

Uploan, a Philippines-based provider of salary linked financial services, has raised a senior secured loan of up to US$ 15 million from Lendable, a UK-based provider of debt to fintech companies in emerging and frontier markets. The long-term facility will allow Uploan to grow their loan book, redeploy Lendable’s capital several times and hold more exposure on-balance sheet. The transaction’s security structure, complying to new regulations adopted in 2020, also establishes a secured debt infrastructure that paves a clear path for Uploan to expand their institutional debt into the future. Additionally, the partnership will enable Uploan to partner with more…

Ayannah a Filipino fintech startup that provides affordable and accessible digital financial services will be providing its open banking and omnichannel distribution platform to Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)’s mobile app Diskartech. With this partnership, Diskartech users will be able to cash in through thousands of Ayannah-enabled outlets nationwide. Ayannah gives users access to its global network of services that include e-commerce, remittance, and electronic distribution and payment, including online and mobile selling. “We are excited to partner with RCBC to make Diskartech even more accessible to our kababayans all over the country. With our growing network of transaction agents,…

AirAsia announced its partnership with GCash to provide its guests with a fast and convenient option to pay for their flights and other add-ons when booking through its app and website. Guests can now make secure mobile payments online by proceeding to AirAsia’s payment page where they can pay via GCash through the ‘Wallet’ tab. GCash can also be used to make payments for AirAsia shop purchases via the app. Guests can also use their GCash e-wallets for cashless transactions at AirAsia check-in counters nationwide when paying for additional baggage, meals, and other flight add-ons while checking in. Guests simply…

Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), has digital only bank to secure a license under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s newly revised digital banking framework. OFBank was issued a digital banking license on March 25 after being approved for the first phase of BSP’s three-stage licensing framework on the establishment of new digital banks. OFBank’s license differs from other digital-only banks or neobanks who are operating under a rural banking license which adhere to a different set of rules. Following that, OFBank was able to commence its banking operations in…