THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) granted a digital banking license to Singapore-based financial technology (fintech) firm DigibankASIA Pte. Ltd., creator of UNObank. This is the third entity to get regulatory approval to operate as a digital bank for this year.
Earlier this week, Tonik Financial Pte. Ltd. also announced it has secured a digital bank license from the BSP, the first private neobank to do so in the country. Earlier this year, the BSP approved the digital bank license of Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank).
“The BSP’s vision and foresight to digitize the local banking industry is future-forward and apt, because ultimately it will help align the Philippines as a modern banking center for the region,” UNOBank co-founder Manish Bhai said.
UNObank is currently being built under fintech holding company DigibankASIA.
The co-founders said they are tapping Singapore’s fintech community for the latest in innovation and technological development in their quest to create UNObank as a robust, highly secure digital banking platform that has the flexibility to create unique customised solutions for the people that the bank serves.
A statement said the fintech firm is working with global technology companies that include Mambu, Backbase and AWS in building their technology stack.
“Long term, our goal is to bridge the gap to financial inclusion,” Bhai said. “With UNObank, we are building the first full-spectrum digital bank to service those with unmet financial needs in Southeast and South Asia.”
In 2020, the BSP issued Circular 1105 on “The Guidelines on the Establishment of Digital Banks,” providing the framework and regulatory provisions for the operation and establishment of a digital bank in the Philippines.