PayMaya secures digital bank license from BSP

Voyager Innovations, through its financial technology arm PayMaya Philippines, has announced that it has obtained the approval of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to establish a digital bank.

The previous story shared that Voyager raised USD 167 million for PayMaya’s expansion into digital banking in order to fast-track financial inclusion in the Philippines. The digital bank will be known as Maya Bank and its primary focus will be the largely unbanked and underserved population of consumers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Additionally, 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 lead Voyager’s digital financial service thrust, support BSP’s goals of digitizing 50% of the total volume of retail payments and expand the financially included to 70% of Filipino adults by 2023.

Voyager shares that PayMaya will provide mobile-first digital banking services on the back of PayMaya’s e-wallet and proven technology platforms. It is advertised to maximize PayMaya’s extensive Smart Padala agent network and leading merchant payments processing business to serve more customers and grow the digital financial ecosystem.