UNObank and Tonik recently had their application approved by the Central Bank of Philippines to operate as a digital bank in the country and they aim to bridge the gap of financial inclusion in Southeast Asia and eventually South Asia. UNObank will see Manish Bhai as the CEO, who is also a career banker and tech entrepreneur.
Bhai told the media, “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. We are very grateful to the BSP and honoured by the trust placed in our team. Long term, our goal is to bridge the gap to financial inclusion. With UNObank, we are building the first full-spectrum digital bank to service those with unmet financial needs in Southeast and South Asia”.
UNObank is currently working with cloud banking provider Mambu and Amazon Web Services for their rollout in the country.
On the other hand, Tonik, which is the first digital-only neobank in the country has also acquired a digital license. Prior to this, the neobank was granted a license to operate as a rural bank in the Philippines in 2019.
Greg Krasnov, CEO of Tonik mentioned that securing a digital license was one of the highly anticipated milestones for the company and it will help strengthen their foothold in the neobanking space by speeding up the rollout of their payment products and additional lending.