Dubai-based bank RAKBANK recently enhanced its current remittance footprint in the Philippines by partnering with BDO Unibank, a full-service universal bank in the Philippines. The Bank’s RAKMoneyTransfer (RMT) services will now enable customers to make instant, frictionless, and secure money transfer services to any bank account in the Philippines through RippleNet. Peter England, RAKBANK CEO, said, “We, at RAKBANK, are committed to increasing our international remittance footprint and are delighted to enhance our RMT services into the Philippines, thanks to our partnership with BDO. This partnership aims to offer the Filipino expat community here in the UAE the ability to…
Author: Fintech News Philippines
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Azimo, a European based money transfer service, announced today that it has partnered with Ripple, the enterprise blockchain solution for global payments. Azimo has launched its first service using Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity solution (ODL) to send faster and cheaper cross-border payments to the Philippines, with plans to expand to more markets in 2020. The Philippines is one of the top remittance destinations globally, receiving $34 billion in 2018. ODL uses the digital asset XRP and has the potential to reduce liquidity costs by up to 60% compared to traditional banking solutions. “We’ve been interested for a long time in the…
TONIK announced today that it closed a US$ 6 Million round of equity funding led by regional VC investors Insignia Ventures Partners and Credence partners. The funds raised will be used to launch its digital bank in the Philippines, targetting the start of commercial operations in 2020. Interestingly, one of its lead investors, Insignia Ventures Partners is also participating in a Razer-led bid for Singapore’s digital banking license. While TONIK drums up its status as the first digital bank in South East Asia, it is important to note that the Philippines does not have a separate digital banking framework like…
A Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official has raised the need to check on whether financial technology (fintech) firms can indeed boost financial inclusion in the Philippines, citing the large number of Filipinos who remain unbanked. In her speech during the media launch of the “Fintech for Impact” partnership program between ING Bank, N.V. and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in Makati City Wednesday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy Managing Director, Pia Bernadette Roman-Tayag, said fintechs have continuously presented innovative financial services solutions using the latest technology. Roman-Tayag said people can now easily…
CIMB’s digital-only banking arm in the Philippines and Jumio announced today the bank has picked the end-to-end identity verification provider to power its digital onboarding. According to their press statement, CIMB Bank PH’s mobile app integrates Jumio’s AI-driven identity verification technology to provide a “safe, secure and fast digital onboarding experience”— what used to take 15 minutes with a video KYC process now takes less than five minutes, resulting in an increase in conversions and happier customers. Jumio’s identity verification solution uses machine learning, AI, certified liveness detection and face-based biometrics to ensure the person behind a digital transaction is…
The Board of Directors of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has approved the creation of cloud-based digital bank with a rural bank license as disclosed with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Once regulatory approvals are secured, RCBC’s virtual bank will become the Philippines’ first digital bank deployment by a local universal bank. So far, three entities with digital banking operations have been given a green light by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, namely ING, CIMB and Tonik, all owned by regional companies. The new digital bank will be run by Lito Villanueva, RCBC executive vice president and chief…
With a population of over 100 million people and rising Internet and mobile penetration rates, the Philippines is poised to see its fintech industry boom. The sector has witnessed significant growth over the past couple of years on the back of government support and efforts coming from regional tech players as they look to tap into the country’s many opportunities in the field of digital financial services. Players like Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek, its Singaporean competitor Grab as well as Hong Kong’s Oriente have all built a presence in the Philippines’ fintech sector, while China’s tech firms Alibaba and Tencent…
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Banco de Oro (BDO), Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), Metrobank and the Philippine National Bank (PNB) and UnionBank of the Philippines are the six banks in the Philippines charging the lowest ATM fees, while Security Bank and ChinaBank are the two charging the most ATM fees, according to a research by Yugatech. The research, which analyzes Filipino banks’ ATM fees that apply to basic, savings and debit accounts, found that BPI, BDO, RCBC, Metrobank and PNB all provide free balance inquiries and free ATM withdrawals at their respective ATMs. They also all offer free…
Finastra announced today that TONIK, a licensed digital-only bank in Philippines, has selected Fusion Essence in the cloud to power its end-to-end core banking capabilities. According to the parties involved, the move will support TONIK as it launches its retail deposit and customer loans services in the Philippines, giving it agility and the ability to scale quickly. Greg Krasnov, Founder & CEO at TONIK, said, “The banking sector in the Philippines is ripe for digital disruption. The country has high internet usage, the majority of Filipinos are unbanked and research shows half of the people who do have bank accounts…
The FinTech Alliance.ph has mobilized the entire Philippine digital industry to quickly assist the victims of the recent Taal volcano eruption which is still at alert level 4 or ‘hazardous eruption’ imminent in the coming days. Ashfall reached more than 100 kilometers including Metro Manila leading to the closure of Manila’s main international airport for a day and suspension of work and classes. An estimated 15,000 villagers had been moved to evacuation centres which could further swell to hundreds of thousands more being brought to safety. Two initiatives under the #helptaaldigital campaign were launched by the Alliance. The first is…
TONIK Financial announced today that its subsidiary in the Philippines has received Notice of Approval for a new banking license from the Central Bank of the Philippines. The license will enable Tonik to provide a full range of retail banking services, focused primarily on retail deposits and consumer loans, through what they claim is the first digital-only branchless bank licensed platform in the Philippines, starting in 2020. TONIK believes that Philippines banking sector is ripe for a digital disruption, and will follow the lead of other markets globally, where digital-only “neobanks” have rapidly captured millions of customers and attracted over…
Albay Representative Joey Salceda on Monday filed a measure providing a regulatory framework for virtual banking to boost the financial inclusion thrust pursued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, filed House Bill 5913, which aims to expedite the rollout of critical anti-poverty measures and help achieve the country’s inclusive growth goals. He said virtual banks are able to provide financial services at much more favorable rates, as they do not incur such expenses as establishing and securing branches and maintaining automated teller machines (ATMs). “The opportunity for regulation is clearly…
Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) introduced many firsts in its revitalized mobile banking app with enhanced user interface and other new online banking features to optimize digital customer experience. Among these new features include the multi-currency foreign exchange or buy-and-sell supporting 6 currencies such as, Euro, British Pound, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, Singapore Dollar, and US Dollar; online time deposit placement up to P10 million or US$ 200,000; and online and mobile government payments via PESONet in partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines. Highlights of the new RCBC mobile app include the push and pull payments…
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation has achieved exponential growth for its mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) implementation generating 515% and 622% year-on-year growth on transaction volume, from US$ 6.5 million in 2018 to US$ 41 million, and on transaction count, from 111,000 to 811,000 from the same period last year, respectively. “We are very pleased with this achievement as it validates our goal to scale up inclusive digital finance among the unbanked and underserved sector, especially since 52% of the cash withdrawal transactions were from conditional cash transfer beneficiaries nationwide. These were in 4th to 6th class cities and municipalities such as in…
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) announced that it has adopted the national QR (quick-response) code standard that would simplify and facilitate interoperable payment transactions. “This is another milestone in further promoting the government’s National Retail Payment System in accelerating interoperability across bank and non-bank financial institutions allowing Filipinos flexibility and convenience in sending and receiving money for payments,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo said. “Our vision is to have more market vendors, jeepney, and tricycle drivers accepting digital payments through QR code linked to transaction accounts,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said. Diokno said the use…
UnionBank of the Philippines has been stealing headlines for quite a bit recently with various tech-related announcements. There a lot of bright spots in the Philippines fintech ecosystem even though they are not as heavily reported on as some of its South East Asian counterparts. UnionBank, in particular, is a good example of how some of the players with the country are innovating to stay ahead. The bank has been providing the financial services community with its API Developer Portal since 2017, enabling fintechs and innovative companies to tap into its banking services and other functionalities. Acting as the interface…
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has sealed a partnership with LenddoEFL for faster and more convenient financial account opening for Filipinos through an end-to-end digital verification and authentication solution. In Philippines, Know Your Customer (KYC) processes have always required a face-to-face or real-time online interview to onboard bank customers. “With digital KYC, consumers, particularly those who are unbanked, can open deposit accounts, apply for loans online, take out new insurance policies, do money transfers, and pay more than 2,000 billers through RCBC’s DiskarTech virtual bank in less than five minutes, anytime, anywhere. This is simply commoditizing customer convenience in an…
In line with its thrust of ensuring the efficiency of payment systems in support of inclusive economic development, the Monetary Board has approved a policy requiring the adoption of a National Quick Response (QR) Code Standard for payments. The QR technology has emerged as a convenient and cost-efficient means of moving funds from one account to another. However there have been concerns raised recently by the creator of QR codes regarding its security. The adoption of a QR Code Standard on a national scale is expected to bring more Filipinos as well as micro and small enterprises onboard the financial…
CIMB Bank Philippines has partnered with Singapore-based fintech CredoLab to extend financial products to underbanked customers in the Philippines, starting with personal loans. CIMB Bank Philippines uses CredoApp (CredoLab’s white-label mobile application) to instantly score applicants, including “thin-file” customers who lack sufficient or any traditional credit bureau data. With CredoLab’s artificial intelligence-based credit scoring capabilities, Filipinos can apply for a credit loan of up to P1,000,000 even in the absence of fulfilling traditional banking requirements. Within 10 minutes, Filipinos can enjoy in-principle approvals on their personal loans through the CIMB App and without having to step foot into or queue…
Members of FinTechAlliance.ph, an organization of fintech and digital firms have agreed to institutionalize an industry-wide code of ethics and adopt a code of conduct among its Alliance member-companies for responsible online lending. This comes after three online lenders were recently cited by the National Privacy Commission (NPC) for data privacy violations. The Alliance forged the partnership with government agencies and regulators National Privacy Commission (NPC), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Anti-Money Laundering Council Secretariat, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Trade and Industry and Insurance Commission to establish an industry standard on consumer protection, governance,…