Author
Ranina Sanglap
The Philippines may see its first purely digital banks by 2022 as the central bank prepares to issue them licenses. But the challenge for the neobanks will be to build trust and convince customers in a country with low financial services penetration and a preference for face-to-face interaction, analysts say.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in November 2020 approved a new license category for digital banks. The central bank has received two applications as of February — one from a new player and the other from an existing bank to convert into a digital bank, BSP's Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier told S&P Global Market Intelligence.