Tonik, Philippines’ first neobank to secure digital bank license

By Leandra Monteiro

Tonik, the Philippines’ first digital-only neobank continues to make waves in the local FinTech and banking industry as it secures a digital bank license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) – the first for any private and purely digital bank in the country.

The development comes after the neobank’s public launch in March 2021, which saw it secure over US$20M in retail deposits in under 1 month – a historic record for any new bank launching in the Philippines. Most recently, Tonik has also bagged its Pre-Series B funding, solidifying its position as one of the highest funded FinTechs in Southeast Asia.

“Securing a digital banking license is one of this year’s anticipated milestones for us,” shared 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.”

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.

“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 offers accessible, flexible, and inclusive financial services, including industry-leading deposit interest rates of up to 6% per annum, and unique saving features such as its Solo Stash and Group Stash products, as well as Term Deposits.

Tonik is supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). Its unique cloud-based solution is powered by global financial technology leaders such as Mastercard, Amazon Web Services, and Finastra.