BSP gave two more banks a COA to operate as a digital blank, making 6 digital banks that the Philippines currently have.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has given a Certificate of Authority (COA) to two more banks, namely UnionDigital Bank Inc. (UDB) and GoTyme Bank Corporation (GTYME), allowing them to begin full-fledged operations as digital banks.
Digital banks have no physical branches but get banking done through a digital platform. It means that the availability of all banking activities is done online. A user can access their bank through their phones, tablets, desktops, and even laptops.
Aside from UDB and GYTME who got their COA last July 12 and 29 respectively, other operating digital banks are: 1)ToinkDigital Bank, Inc. (TONDB), 2) Maya Bank, Inc., 3Overseas Filipino Bank of LandBank and UNOBank Inc.of UBI.TONDB and MAYA were authorized in the first quarter of 2022 while OFBDB and UBI were authorized during the second quarter of 2022.
Digital Bank Processing
The BSP grants the COA to operate digital banks that have largely met the BSP's prerequisites for approval and pre-operational requirements like capitalization, risk and governance structure, and information technology systems.
These would ensure the security and protection of the user’s privacy.
The application to form a digital bank, which must be approved by the Monetary Board (MB), is the first step toward obtaining a COA to operate. The BSP issues a COA to Register when the MB approves it and then filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After registering and meeting all other conditions, digital banks may apply to the BSP for a Certificate of Authority to Operate.
It’s a long process but duly significant so that these banks have a wider reach to their customers as we are now living in a modern era, and BSP has these qualifications to ensure efficiency and certainty.
Digital Bank Status
Todate, OFBDB, TONDB, and MAYA are fully operational while UBI, UDB, and GYTME have commenced limited operations and targeting selected customers.
UBI, UDB, and GTYME are operating with limited capacity at first because it is a prudent approach taken by digital banks to guarantee that all parts of their digital operations are ironed out before providing their services to the public. They are scheduled to go public in the second half of this year.
From January to June 2022, electronic payments and financial services processed by digital banks totaled 1.4 million transactions and P8.45 billion, respectively.
Digital banks have been able to support the BSP’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, which seeks to digitalize half of the entire volume of retail payments in the country by 2023, as well as onboard at least 70 percent of Filipino adults into the formal financial system.
Tags: #DigitalBank, #COA, #Modern, #Financial, #BSP