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The BSP Just Priced Digital Banking at PHP 1 Billion. The Retreat Has Already Started.

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The BSP Just Priced Digital Banking at PHP 1 Billion. The Retreat Has Already Started.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas just put a price on acting like a digital bank: PHP 1 billion. The players already in that market spent the same month consolidating, weighing a sale, or deferring their listings.

Infographic

On 21 September 2026, the BSP published Circular No. 1240, requiring thrift, rural, and cooperative banks that behave like digital banks to hold the same PHP 1 billion minimum capital as licensed digital banks, and allowing them to apply for conversion. (Source: BSP, 2026)

Five weeks later, UnionBank moved to absorb UnionDigital and UBX, CIMB Group's Philippine unit drew interest from BPI and Metrobank, and Maya pushed its IPO target to 2027. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

That is not the signature of a market about to expand. It is a market repricing what an independent digital bank is worth.

The New Door Costs PHP 1 Billion

Circular 1240 covers thrift, rural, and cooperative banks operating a digital-bank-like model. Covered banks get six months to comply, and the PHP 1 billion floor applies to acquisitions intended to convert one into a technology-driven bank. (Source: BSP, 2026)

The Philippines currently has seven licensed digital banks: Maya Bank, GoTyme Bank, UnionDigital Bank, UNObank, Tonik Digital Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, and MariBank. The BSP raised its licensing cap from six to ten in 2025, leaving three slots open. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

Three open slots, seven incumbents, and a fresh set of banks now allowed to buy their way into the same business. Scarcity was never the constraint.

Three Retreats in 48 Hours

UnionBank said on 28 October that folding UnionDigital and UBX into the parent would involve organisational changes, including workforce adjustments. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

The numbers behind the absorption are blunt. UnionDigital had built up PHP 9.4 billion in capital stock and a PHP 5.64 billion accumulated deficit by June 2026. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

Its loan book grew to PHP 6.7 billion from PHP 4.3 billion in March, and its bad-loan ratio improved to 21.39% from 29.51%. Lending scaled fast, and roughly one in five loans was still impaired. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

UnionBank's nine-month net income rose 53% to PHP 9.9 billion over the same period. The parent is earning. The digital subsidiary is being folded in. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

The same week, CIMB Group was reported to be exploring a sale of CIMB Bank Philippines at up to USD 200 million, with BPI and Metrobank among interested buyers. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

CIMB Bank Philippines launched in December 2018 as a digital-only bank, reached 10 million customers by September 2025, and powers GSave and GCredit inside GCash. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

Ten million customers of its own, and still a sale candidate.

Maya moved its IPO target from the second half of 2026 to 2027. PLDT and First Pacific hold 39.6% of the company. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

What the One Profitable Standalone Does Differently

Tonik reported positive consolidated cash net income in Q1 2026, a first for a standalone Philippine digital bank by its own account. (Source: FF News, 2026)

Its loan portfolio reached USD 110 million in April 2026, up 2.3 times year on year, and lending produced 99% of revenue. (Source: FF News, 2026)

The structural advantage was funding cost. The license let Tonik raise deposits at 3% to 6%, against 15% or more for non-bank lenders, producing a 51% net interest margin and an 82% loan-to-deposit ratio, the highest among Philippine digital banks. (Source: FF News, 2026)

Read the retreats against that profile. A digital bank that cannot underwrite at scale is a deposit app with a banking license attached, and deposit apps get absorbed.

The Deposit War Nobody Won

Filipino savers did get real value out of the licensing round. Digital banks offered savings rates above 3%, against a traditional bank average of 1.8%. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

That transfer was funded by shareholder capital, not earnings. The sector booked a combined net loss of PHP 3.971 billion through September 2025, and only Maya Bank and Overseas Filipino Bank were in the black in 2024. (Source: BusinessWorld, 2026)

High deposit rates, thin credit files, and fraud losses all arrive before a lending model matures.

Who Applies for the Three Open Slots

The likeliest applicants now look less like venture-backed challengers and more like institutions that already own a balance sheet or a payments ecosystem. Circular 1240 names thrift, rural, and cooperative banks as eligible. (Source: BSP, 2026)

Foreign interest has not vanished. Revolut was reported as a possible applicant in the 2026 round, with multi-currency savings accounts as the pitch. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

But the license is the cheap part. UnionDigital's PHP 5.64 billion deficit is what the expensive part looks like. (Source: Fintech News Philippines, 2026)

FAQ

Q: What is BSP Circular 1240?

A: The September 2026 rule requires thrift, rural, and cooperative banks that operate like digital banks to hold at least PHP 1 billion in capital and meet added risk management and reporting requirements.

Q: How many digital banks are licensed in the Philippines in 2026?

A: Seven. Maya Bank, GoTyme Bank, UnionDigital Bank, UNObank, Tonik Digital Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, and MariBank. The licensing cap is ten, so three slots remain available.

Q: Why is UnionDigital Bank being folded into UnionBank?

A: UnionBank is integrating UnionDigital and UBX into the parent to remove duplication and cut cost. UnionDigital carried a PHP 5.64 billion deficit and a 21.39% bad-loan ratio as of June 2026.

Q: Which Philippine digital bank is profitable?

A: Tonik reported sustained profitability in Q1 2026 as a standalone lender. Maya Bank and Overseas Filipino Bank were the only profitable players among the original six in 2024.

Key Takeaway

A lower entry price does not repair a lending model. Circular 1240 lets thrift and cooperative banks buy into digital banking at PHP 1 billion while the incumbents consolidate, weigh a sale, or delay their listings.

If you run a bank weighing that conversion, or a fintech weighing a partnership instead, which side of the line are you building on: a licensed deposit wrapper, or an underwriting business that happens to ship an app?

Sources

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