Finance

MMDA Wants the BSP and AMLC to Cut Off Payments Behind Fake Traffic Fine Texts

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Romando Artes has written to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) about fake traffic fine texts targeting motorists in the Philippines, Philstar reported. The messages pose as alerts under the no-co…

4 days ago

finance

Fintech News PH

Tonik Users Can Buy Mobile Load and Game Credits in the App with No Extra Fees

Tonik Digital Bank has expanded its app with mobile load, telco promos and game credits, Manila Bulletin reported. Customers can top up their own number or anyone else’s by entering a mobile number, according to Unbox. Load and promos go straight to the recipient’s number, while…

4 days ago

Philippine Airlines Adds Apple Pay Two Months After the Wallet’s Philippine Launch

Philippine Airlines (PAL) now accepts Apple Pay, the airline posted on Facebook, about two months after Apple’s payment service launched in the Philippines. The addition gives passengers another way to pay the flag carrier. PAL’s existing options in its Manage My Booking facilit…

4 days ago

Maya Gathers Its Anti-Scam Controls into One Security Center as SMS OTPs Phase Out

Maya is urging customers to use its in-app Security Center, where they can approve Send Money transfers with Face ID or fingerprint instead of an SMS one-time password (OTP), BusinessMirror reported. Maya launched the Security Center late last year and has added controls to it s…

4 days ago

CIMB Eyes Philippine Bank Sale After Offloading Its Thai Auto Loans

CIMB Group is exploring a sale of its business in the Philippines, home to the digital-only lender CIMB Bank Philippines, as it looks to streamline and focus on bigger markets, according to a Bloomberg report. The Malaysian lender is working with a financial adviser and has appr…

5 days ago

BDO Unibank Upgrades Payments Infrastructure With Finastra

BDO Unibank has enhanced its payments infrastructure with Finastra’s Global PAYplus (GPP). Finastra announced that the upgrade supports growing transaction volumes, strengthens operational resilience and improves interoperability across the payments ecosystem. As a leading unive…

5 days ago

Revolut Wants More Than a Manila Tech Hub as It Eyes a Philippine Digital Bank

UK-based fintech Revolut is said that it would apply for digital bank and electronic money issuer (EMI) licences in the Philippines from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. DTI Secretary Cristina Roque discussed the plans with…

6 days ago

What Is a Banking Product Engine and Why Does It Matter for Lenders?

Launching a new financial product has often meant waiting for a core vendor to fulfil change requests, building workarounds, or committing to a core banking replacement. A product engine offers another route, and what follows covers what one is, how it sits alongside a legacy co…

6 days ago

GCash Opens Its IPO Window Today at US$0.11, a Third Below the US$0.16 Cap

GCash parent Mynt has priced its IPO at US$0.11 per share. Retail investors can subscribe from 6 to 12 October, after institutional demand left the book oversubscribed multiple times, Mynt said in a statement. Mynt priced the shares about a third below the US$0.16 maximum it set…

6 days ago

244 Foreigners Arrested in Mindanao Raids on Illegal Offshore Gaming Operators

Philippine authorities have arrested 244 foreign nationals, most of them Chinese, in raids on two sites in Mindanao, the biggest crackdown this year on illegal offshore gaming operators, according to Al Jazeera. The Immigration Bureau said military and other law enforcement agen…

Eligible Families Can Now Get Their Monthly DSWD Cash Aid in GCash

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is expanding digital access to UPLIFT cash aid through GCash. Eligible beneficiaries can receive subsequent payouts in their GCash wallets, according to the Manila Times. The first digital payout took place in Bacolod City…

DOJ Takes Fee Payments Online Through LandBank’s Link.BizPortal

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has partnered with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) to roll out an online payment system for public services. The DOJ will integrate its payment collections into LandBank’s Link.BizPortal, allowing the public to pay for fees, clearances…

SEC Draft Proposes Up to PHP 200,000 Fines for Unfair Debt Collection

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing mandatory accreditation for third-party collection agencies (TPCAs) that collect debts for financing and lending companies. The draft circular, issued for public comment on 30 September, would bring TPCAs under the SEC’s…

Vikas Arora Returns to Manila as Deutsche Bank’s Country Head

Deutsche Bank has appointed Vikas Arora as its Chief Country Officer and Head of Corporate Banking in the Philippines, effective October 1, subject to regulatory approval, according to Reuters. Arora replaces outgoing Country Head Dino Siason, FinanceAsia reported. Arora will le…

11 days ago

Security Bank CEO Takes Over Retail Banking as Head, Rahul Rasal Resigns

Security Bank Corp.’s retail banking head, Rahul Rasal, is stepping down in December as the bank undertakes a broad leadership reorganisation involving more than a dozen senior officers, according to Philstar. In a regulatory filing, the bank said Rasal, Executive Vice President…

11 days ago

Mynt IPO Draws BlackRock and 19 Other Investors Worth Roughly PHP 36.5 billion

Mynt, the parent company of GCash, has secured commitments from more than 20 cornerstone investors for its proposed initial public offering (IPO), according to Mynt’s own newsroom. The company said this represents the largest number of cornerstone investors secured for a Philipp…

Palawan Pay Users Can Now Send Money Across 200 Countries

Ria Money Transfer and Palawan Group of Companies are enhancing their partnership in the Philippines, expanding both inbound and outbound money transfer services, according to a LinkedIn post from Steve Peregrino, Ria Philippines’ President and CEO. The expanded collaboration bu…

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Lifeline or Debt Trap? | Alain Yee, ShopeePay (MY) CEO

BNPL is a lifeline for Malaysians shut out of formal credit, or a fast route into debt, depending on who you ask. ShopeePay’s CEO makes his case. Alain Yee joined Shopee in 2019 as CEO of ShopeePay Malaysia, launching the e-wallet two to three years after its main rivals. SPayLa…

BSP Blocks Inbound Transfers to DCPay, But Outbound Still Works

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partially suspended DCPay Philippines Inc., the e-wallet operator behind Coins.ph, blocking inbound money transfers across the InstaPay and PESONet clearinghouses, according to BitPinas. The Philippine Payments Management Inc. notified f…

Netbank Adds PayLoro to Its Growing List of BaaS Partners

Netbank has entered a strategic partnership with PayLoro, combining Netbank’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure with PayLoro’s digital payment solutions, according to a LinkedIn post from Netbank. The companies said the partnership aims to make financial services faster…

Webinar: Who Wins the Next Era of Embedded Finance?

Embedded finance has settled into the region’s everyday digital life. Payments, credit and wallets now sit inside platforms customers use for something else entirely. What has not settled is who captures the value. The platform owns the journey and the data. Someone further back…

DTI Widens Financing for MSMEs Going for EVs With Veterans Bank

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand financing options for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including those seeking to acquire electric vehicles, according to BusinessWorld.…

Maya Skips the ID Photo for Eligible Account Upgrades

Maya is letting eligible users upgrade their accounts without photographing or uploading a physical ID, according to Wazzup.PH. Users only need to provide details they already know, such as their name and birthday, or their National ID number if they have it saved. Maya checks t…

GCash Opens Stock Investing to Users From Just PHP 500

GCash is letting fully verified users open a brokerage account with AB Capital Securities Inc. directly within its app through GStocks PH, allowing investments in Philippine stocks starting at PHP 500, according to YugaTech. Users can complete registration in minutes, fund their…

BancNet Maintenance Takes Some GCash Services Offline Tonight

Some GCash services will be unavailable overnight as BancNet, the Philippines’ interbank payments network, undergoes scheduled system maintenance, according to ABS-CBN News. The maintenance runs from 11:30 PM tonight to 1:30 AM on September 29, according to GCash’s own Help Cent…

BSP Sets PHP 1 Billion Capital Floor for Banks Acting Like Digital Banks

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued capital and other requirements for thrift, rural and cooperative banks shifting to digital bank business models. The move aims to ensure these banks operate safely and soundly. Under Circular No. 1240, dated September 21, 2026, BS…

Former DOKU CEO Chris Yeo Takes Over Antom Philippines

Antom, Ant International’s merchant payment and digitisation services provider, has announced a series of leadership appointments across Southeast Asia. The moves aim to strengthen synergy among its regional brands and offer merchants more unified, AI-native payment solutions. A…

DragonFi Securities Gets SEC Nod to Test US Stock Access

DragonFi Securities Inc., the stock brokerage arm of DoubleDragon Corp, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to test a product letting Filipino investors access pre-approved US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without opening an account…

IFC Plans US$70 Million Investment in Mynt IPO

GCash parent Mynt could secure US$70 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) ahead of its planned Philippine IPO. BusinessWorld reported that IFC plans to participate as a cornerstone investor by acquiring Mynt common shares from its own account, with the propos…

18 days ago