PayMaya is given the green light by BSP to establish a digital bank
It’s a natural evolution for PayMaya!
The financial technology arm of Voyager Innovations has obtained the approval of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to establish a digital bank! The digital bank will be known as Maya Bank.
What is a digital bank?
Since the pandemic, most commercial banks have accelerated their processes to make it easier for their depositors to do as many transactions online without having to visit a branch. Several now have existing apps to do these. However, these apps still require an account that still requires you to go to a branch, fill up some forms, and sign signature cards.
Digital banks do away with any requirement to go to a brick-and-mortar bank. Even account openings and check deposits can be done online. Digital banks can be purely virtual banks (have no brick-and-mortar branches at all) or commercial banks that have converted their processes into those offered by a digital bank.
The BSP earlier announced that it would limit the digital banks to seven. Six licenses have now been granted, including the one given to Maya Bank. Applications for digital bank licenses, including that of converting banks, closed last August 31.
PayMaya operates an end-to-end FinServ (financial services) ecosystem with its widely used e-wallet, an extensive on-ground digital remittance network through Smart Padala, and its non-bank merchant payments processing business. Maya Bank will leverage all these and will focus primarily on a 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.
Both PayMaya and the soon-to-be-established Maya Bank will spearhead Voyager’s digital financial services thrust. BSP’s goals include digitizing 50% of the total volume of retail payments and expanding the financially-included to 70% of Filipino adults by 2023.
As a neobank (another name for a digital bank), Maya Bank will provide mobile-first digital banking services on the back of PayMaya’s e-wallet and technology platforms. It will maximize PayMaya’s extensive Smart Padala agent network and leading merchant payments processing business to serve more customers and grow the digital financial ecosystem.
I have been a PayMaya user for years already so I am excited to know about the plans of Maya Bank because now, digital transactions will be even more seamless for users like me. This will also allow a great number of Filipinos who are still unbanked to open bank accounts and do digital banking transactions with less inconvenience and requirements. This is a great advancement for financial inclusion!
To know more about PayMaya’s products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
