#digital banks license ph

ING's recent announcement that it will soon exit the retail banking market in the Philippines has got people talking about other banks they can open an account with, especially digital banks. But what are the available banks in the Philippines that the BSP classifies as a Digital Bank? A digital bank is just one of the bank classifications or categories which include universal banks, commercial banks, thrift banks, rural banks, cooperative banks, and Islamic banks. The BSP, however, recognizes that there are certain banks that belong to other categories that use the phrase "digital bank" in their marketing channels even if they do not fall under the definition of a digital bank pursuant to circular No. In a memo, the BSP said that only a bank that is granted the license to operate as a digital bank may represent itself to the public as such in connection with its business name. The BSP also said that other banks may market themselves as a bank offering "digital banking products or services" or other equivalent terms provided that it has secured the requisite BSP license on electronic payment and financial services for these digital banking products or services. In summary, there are many banks out there that offer digital banking services but there are only six entities in the Philippines that got their license from the Monetary Board (MB) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to operate as digital banks. Read more in our articles including "The 6 BSP-licensed digital banks in the Philippines" and "10 Digital Banks in the Philippines Ranked Based on Interest Rates in 2026".