The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is exploring the possibility of ending the moratorium on issuing licenses for digital banks. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. mentioned that numerous local and international entities have shown interest in acquiring licenses to operate digital banks.
In August 2021, BSP implemented a three-year ban on granting digital banking licenses to closely evaluate the impact of this emerging banking category on the industry.
Several institutions have already been granted digital banking licenses, including the following:
Maya Bank emerged as the largest digital bank in terms of assets, boasting PHP23.22 billion as of the end of March.
This was followed by UnionDigital Bank with PHP15.16 billion, Tonik Digital Bank with PHP10.71 billion, OF Digital Bank with PHP4.5 billion, UNObank with PHP3.05 billion, and Gotyme with PHP2.74 billion.
Ma. Cynthia Sison, the director of the Supervisory Policy and Research Department at BSP, shared that the regulator is in the final stages of a study assessing the operations of these six digital banks.
To accelerate digital transformation, BSP initiated a Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap aimed at transitioning 50 percent of the country’s total retail transactions to electronic channels. Additionally, the plan includes increasing the percentage of Filipinos with financial accounts to 70 percent by 2023.
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