BSP may complete review of digital bank license applications in 1st quarter

By Katherine K. Chan, Reporter

THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may finish its assessment of the three applicants for new digital banking licenses within the first quarter, a top official said.

BSP Deputy Governor Lyn I. Javier told reporters on Friday that the applications are still undergoing evaluation and may come out with the list of candidates before end-March.

“Maybe, (by the first quarter), we have already selected the likely candidates,” she said on the sidelines of a central bank event. “But still, it depends, and we cannot say if there are other external factors, but that’s our internal target.”

The central bank earlier told BusinessWorld that it received three applications before its deadline lapsed on Nov. 30, 2025.

However, when asked if the four slots earlier opened for new digital banking licenses could be filled, Ms. Javier said: “Oh, we have yet to see because we still have to evaluate all the applications.”

She noted that the central bank is assessing all applications simultaneously to see which of them have a promising business model that “could actually provide value and greater services to the Filipinos.”

“(W)e just received the applications and interpreting documentary checks and evaluation of the business model that they’re proposing, also to meet the objectives of the BSP, the greater inclusiveness, and if they have the capacity actually to deliver,” the BSP deputy governor said.

In January last year, the BSP lifted its three-year moratorium on digital bank licensing as it sought to add four new players or traditional banks seeking to convert to digital operations into the industry.

United Kingdom-based financial technology company Revolut could be one of the country’s new digital banks, said Angelito “Lito” M. Villanueva, FinTech Alliance.PH chairman and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. executive vice-president and chief innovation and inclusion officer.

“Well, I think amongst those, I mean, Revolut will be a shoo-in, right?” Mr. Villanueva told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the same event.

“Well, they allowed four slots. (But) it’s not like they have to fill all four, right? So, if only three or two are ready, then so be it,” he added.

There has yet to be a confirmation of which ones filed their application with the central bank.

In June 2025, the BSP said a Europe-based digital bank had finished its application, while a rural bank had submitted one but was still completing the requirements.

Mr. Villanueva also noted that the industry may anticipate the applications for digital banking licenses of existing digital-first rural or commercial banks, such as Salmon Bank, CIMB Bank, MariBank and OwnBank.

“(T)hey are operating like digital banks but they have not really secured a digital bank license,” he said. “So, I think the better question now is who amongst those who are operating as a digital bank would be applying for a full-blown digital bank license?”

Currently, only six digital banks — Tonik Digital Bank, GoTyme Bank, Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, UNObank and UnionDigital Bank — are licensed by the central bank to operate in the Philippines.