Voyager Innovations has announced that it has received approval from the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to establish a digital bank through its financial technology arm PayMaya Philippines.
As previously reported, Voyager raised USD 167 million for PayMaya’s expansion into digital banking to accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines. Maya Bank will be the name of the digital bank, and its primary focus will be on consumers and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses who are largely unbanked and underserved (MSMEs). It also plans to promote digital financial services to youth, women, senior citizens, and other underbanked populations.
PayMaya and the soon-to-be-established Maya Bank will spearhead Voyager’s digital financial services push, supporting the BSP’s goals of digitizing 50% of total retail payments by 2023 and expanding financial inclusion to 70% of Filipino adults.
PayMaya’s e-wallet and proven technology platforms will enable PayMaya to provide mobile-first digital banking services, according to Voyager. It is promoted as a way for PayMaya to take advantage of its extensive Smart Padala agent network and leading merchant payments processing business to serve more customers and expand the digital financial ecosystem.