Finance

BayaniPay: Borderless banking for Pinoy immigrants launched

Zero-fee remittances back home

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Filipino-led fintech BayaniPay launched the first-ever Filipino-American virtual bank in a partnership with Southern California’s East West Bank.

The service will be quite similar to popular Philippine e-wallet apps like PayMaya and GCash, allowing Filipino immigrants to open an Easy Digital Checking Account.

They will also be able to order a co-branded Visa debit card and send faster, zero-fee remittances to the Philippines for their loved ones.

Borderless banking

The unveiling of BayaniPay seeks to address issues in financial service. It make it easier and more seamless for immigrants to do cross-border financial transactions.

It started in 2021 and provided zero-fee remittances from California to the Philippines, in partnership with BDO Unibank.

By integrating bank products into its platform, BayaniPay is expected to address the needs of about 4.2 million U.S.-based Filipinos.

Financial bridge to the PH

The updated suite of features will make it more seamless experience for both users and their beneficiaries back home.

With the launch of the BayaniPay neobank, recipients in the Philippines can now receive their BayaniPay remittances in 12 hours or less through most national banks, as well as many rural banks, pawnshops, or cash pick-up outlets.

Sending BayaniPay’s market-leading foreign exchange rates also entitles recipients to receive more money for every dollar.

Looking ahead, BayaniPay aims to streamline a variety of cross-border transactions for global professionals from different countries of origin.

BayaniPay is currently available in California, with availability in more states soon to follow.

 

Finance

GCash future-proofs MSMEs with new payment innovations

GCash EasyPOS, SoundPay Plus

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GCash micro-merchants

GCash is future-proofing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with new customer-first payment innovations. This, as the Philippines continues to become a digital payments nation.

The app expanded its suite of solutions to make digital payments more accessible, convenient, and secure for merchants.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all solution, GCash has payment devices designed for different business sizes and ways of operating.

One is the GCash EasyPOS, an all-in-one terminal for medium and even large enterprises. This accepts QRPh, Visa, and Mastercard payments and also supports features like digital receipts, refunds, settlements, and transaction monitoring.

Meanwhile, GCash SoundPay Plus is designed for micro and small merchants, specially in the retail and F&B sectors. It combines QR payments, card acceptance, and instant voice confirmation so merchants can immediately check when a payment pushes through.

The rollout of these two solutions builds on earlier solutions GCash introduced, including PocketPay and SoundPay.

PocketPay is designed for MSMEs, bazaar or pop-up merchants, and mobile sellers who take their products and services wherever their customers are.

It turns an NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a contactless card terminal. This makes payments easy and affordable — without investing in additional hardware.

SoundPay, meanwhile, is a portable QR payment device that provides instant voice confirmation for every transaction.

According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), 57.4% of retail payment transactions by volume were made digitally in 2024.

The central bank is targeting a digital payment share of 60% to 70% by 2028, with businesses increasingly expected to support cashless transactions.

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Finance

GoTyme Bank grows to 10 million users in the Philippines

Over US$ 859.4 million in customer deposits

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GoTyme Bank has reached the 10 million-user milestone in the Philippines, one of its key markets.

A joint venture between the parent Tyme Group and the the local Gokongwei Group, the digital bank has officially grown to 10 million strong, its latest accomplishment after debuting in the country three years ago.

The milestone is backed by over PhP 53 billion (~859.4 million) in customer deposits and sustained engagement across the GoTyme Bank ecosystem.

A core driver of the bank’s rapid growth is its integration into users’ daily financial habits. GoTyme was the Most Used Visa Debit Card in the Philippines, based on Visa debit active usage data in 2025.

The bank has also offered free InstaPay transfers from the start (capped at 20 transactions a month) for greater flexibility. There are also more than 160 billers on the app.

Complementing the digital-first infrastructure is an extensive physical network. There are now more than 600 kiosks in major malls nationwide.

Customers can also conveniently deposit and withdraw cash through more than 2,500 Robinsons Retail store lanes. Cash deposit is also allowed through more than 4,500 7-Eleven stores nationwide.

Among GoTyme’s recent offerings is MoreTyme, a flexible, transparent, and easy-to-understand credit solution.

Through Visa, GoTyme also took part in FIFA World Cup 2026 campaigns, with raffle winners being flown to watch the matches live.

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Finance

UnionDigital Bank, Chubb partner for accessible insurance protection

Chubb insurance products now integrated into UD app

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UnionDigital Bank and Chubb Philippines have partnered to bring accessible insurance protection to Filipinos.

The strategic partnership integrates Chubb’s insurance solutions directly on the UD app. These comprehensive solutions will be seen among UD’s suite of financial products. That way, insurance protection becomes more accessible for consumers.

The two key insurance products in the initial rollout are Loan Protect Insurance and Kaya Protect Insurance.

The first product is automatically included for eligible UD loan borrowers at no additional cost for the first three months once the loan is approved.

In the event of accidental death, permanent disability, temporary disability, or death due to illness, Loan Protect Insurance pays up to the original loan amount to cover 100% of the customer’s outstanding loan balance.

Any remaining balance is released to beneficiaries. Loan Protect Insurance is currently available for loans up to PhP 30,000 with short-term repayment periods.

Meanwhile, Kaya Protect Insurance will be available soon. This provides personal accident and accidental death coverage up to PhP 150,000 and is activated automatically by maintaining a low minimum balance of PhP 100 in the insured’s savings account.

The partnership between UnionDigital Bank and Chubb aims to address the protection gap, as according to a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey, 48% of adult Filipinos are currently uninsured.

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