Tonik, Mastercard partner for digital banking in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Mastercard has partnered with Singapore-based Tonik for the launch of digital banking services in the Philippines within the third quarter.

Under the partnership, Mastercard is further enhancing Tonik’s market proposition by enabling it to issue a range of electronic payments products that taps into Mastercard’s global network and extensive business intelligence.

Rama Sridhar, executive vice president for digital, emerging partnerships and new payment flows in Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said the entire payments ecosystem thrives when fintechs have access to the technology they need to reach scale and make finances widely accessible.

She said Tonik exemplifies an agile and innovative fintech whose ambition of driving financial inclusion in the Philippines through digital-first products and seamless consumer experiences is closely aligned with Mastercard’s mission to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone.

“Tonik’s ability to secure a bank license as a startup is nothing short of exceptional and Mastercard is delighted to partner with them to enhance the Philippines’ digital banking space and to boost the nation’s financial inclusion journey,” she said.

Orchestrating this partnership is Mastercard Fintech Express, a tailored program providing fintechs such as Tonik with increased speed-to-market, access to a suite of digital-first products, and a cross functional team of experts to provide strategic counsel and advisory across product, partnerships, licensing and legal to be able to successfully build their offerings.

Tonik chief executive officer and founder Greg Krasnov said the company wants to empower the underserved and unserved Filipinos by giving them simple, accessible and fast digital banking experiences.

“We want our customers to easily gain familiarity with transacting and banking digitally in order to help them harness the full potential of the rapidly changing digital economy,” Krasnov said.

Krasnov said the partnership with Mastercard is about injecting more speed, scale, and performance into all facets of our business.

“Having immediate access to Mastercard’s global payment network, safety and security technology, data and analytics services, AI technology, and cybersecurity capabilities will be essential to Tonik’s growth and success in today’s digital-first reality,” he said.

Tonik is scheduled to launch a full range of banking services including a transactional savings account with a debit card, savings and term deposit accounts with attractive interest rates, as well as a range of consumer loans in the third quarter after getting the green light from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) late last year.

Debit Mastercard cards will be available to customers at the end of the year, allowing customers to transact and withdraw cash from everywhere Mastercard is accepted.

Additional services such as loans, credit cards, and fund transfer categories will be made available next year.