PayMaya digital bank armgets BSP nod

CEBU, Philippines —  The Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved the establishment of Maya Bank, a digital bank arm of PayMaya Philippines (PayMaya).

Voyager Innovations (Voyager), through its financial technology arm PayMaya, will soon open the Maya Bank with the primary focus of serving the largely unbanked and underserved population of consumers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

It also intends to promote digital financial services among the youth, women, senior citizens, and other underbanked segments.

The new the digital bank will leverage PayMaya’s successful track record of being at the forefront of accelerating financial inclusion in the country. PayMaya is the only financial technology company in the Philippines that operates an end-to-end FinServ (financial services) ecosystem with its widely used leading e-wallet, the most extensive on-ground digital remittance network through Smart Padala, and the largest non-bank merchant payments processing business.

The BSP had earlier announced that it would limit the digital bank licenses to seven, with six now granted, including Maya Bank’s. The window for the submission of applications from new entrants, including converting banks, closed last August 31.

“The digital transformation of our country is at the top of the PLDT group’s agenda, and this development is a big step forward for Voyager and PayMaya. Maya Bank will be a key vehicle in hastening digital adoption among Filipinos through inclusive financial services,” said

Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of PLDT, Voyager and PayMaya.

According to Orlando B. Vea, Voyager and PayMaya CEO-Founder, the Philippines is at the cusp of digital transformation, and over the recent years, PayMaya has led the charge in accelerating financial inclusion across consumers and enterprises. “Our digital bank license underpins the unique value of our end-to-end financial services ecosystem as it unlocks opportunities beyond payments. We are truly honored by the trust placed on us by the BSP for our digital banking endeavor.”

Likewise, Shailesh Baidwan added that the company is committed to work with the BSP to leapfrog the Philippine financial ecosystem by speedily developing and launching innovative digital banking services, especially for the underserved segments.

“With Maya Bank and PayMaya, we will provide a powerhouse suite of intuitive, transparent, and readily accessible digital financial services relevant to Filipinos, in support of the country’s financial inclusion goals,” said Baidwan.

Both PayMaya and the soon-to-be-established Maya Bank will spearhead Voyager’s digital financial services thrust, supporting the BSP’s goals of digitizing 50 percent of the total volume of retail payments and expanding the financially included to 70 percent of Filipino adults by 2023.

In June 2021, Voyager raised an additional US$167 million to accelerate the growth of PayMaya’s digital payments business and expand to new and inclusive products, such as credit, insurance, savings, and investments, through the soon-to-be-established digital bank.

PayMaya’s total registered users grew by more than 2.5X since the start of 2020 to 40 million as of end-August 2021. Today, one in two Filipino adults have used the PayMaya wallet or transacted through its Smart Padala touchpoints.

Through its enterprise business, PayMaya has been equipping merchants with innovative payment solutions that accept all kinds of credit, debit, and prepaid cards, as well as e-wallets for both face-to-face and online transactions.