Tonik, the Philippines’ first digital-only neobank has secured a digital bank license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The development comes after the neobank’s highly successful public launch in March 2021, which saw it secure over 1 billion pesos (US$20M) in retail deposits in under 1 month .
In December 2019, Tonik received its initial rural bank license from the BSP, allowing the neobank to provide retail banking services focused on retail deposits, card payments and consumer loans. A year later, the BSP issued Circular No. 1105 on The Guidelines on the Establishment of Digital Banks, clearing the way for Tonik to scale up and apply for a formal digital bank license.
“Securing a digital banking license is one of this year’s anticipated milestones for us,” shares Greg Krasnov, Tonik CEO and Founder. “This will help us further strengthen our foothold in the neobanking space through accelerating the roll out of our additional lending and payment products.”
“We are truly privileged to be working with a regulator such as the BSP who shares the same vision of bolstering financial inclusion in the country,” shares Long Pineda, Country President at Tonik. “An official digital bank license will enable us to offer more products and services to narrow the gap between the banked population and the huge underserved segment in the Philippines.”
Tonik is supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).
