The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will no longer accept new applications for digital bank licenses starting December, following the Monetary Board’s approval of a moratorium which is set to remain in place until further notice.
In an advisory, the BSP said interested parties will have until November 30, 2025 to submit their complete applications, which will then be evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis.
The central bank said documentation and licensing requirements should be complete both in terms of form and substance, as incomplete or non-compliant submissions will not be accepted after the deadline.
“The decision is part of the BSP’s broader effort to balance digital innovation with financial stability,” the advisory read.
“By carefully evaluating applicants, the BSP aims to ensure that only those with sound governance, robust risk management frameworks, and a compelling value proposition that meets the needs of Filipinos will be granted digital banking licenses,” it added.
Digital banks are defined as banks that offer financial products and services that are processed end-to-end through a digital platform and/or electronic channels with no physical branches.
To recall, the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in August 2024 decided to increase the limit of digital bank license grants to 10 from six.
The six banks that have already secured the digital bank licenses are GOTyme, Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), Tonik Bank, UNObank, and UnionDigital.
It was previously stated that a rural bank has already submitted an application to convert its license into a digital bank, while another foreign player has expressed its intent to apply.
