PAYMAYA Philippines, 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.
To be known as Maya Bank, the move is aimed at leveraging Paymaya among digital banks in accelerating financial inclusion in the country.
“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,” Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, Voyager and PayMaya, said in a statement.
With the digital banking license, Maya Bank’s primary focus will be the largely unbanked and underserved population of consumers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, PayMaya said.
It also intends to promote digital financial services among the youth, women, senior citizens, and other underbanked segments.
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 on Aug. 31.
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. (JOB with PR)