Tonik, a neo banking startup, is planning to launch a digital-only bank in the Philippines after acquiring an online banking license from the nation’s reserve bank.
Seed funded and established by Fintech venture developer Forum, Tonik’s management is preparing to introduce the new platform within the next few months with a special focus on handling consumer loans and retail deposits.
The Tonik team says that the traditional banking industry in the Philippines, where more than 70% of adults are unbanked or underbanked, is ideal for launching online financial services.
With the appropriate support and research and development (R&D) centers established in Chennai, India and Singapore, the Tonik team is led by a group of professionals who have previously developed and scaled the operations of several online and retail banking institutions and Fintech firms across international markets.
Greg Krasnov, founder at CEO at Tonik, stated:
“Digital-only banks globally have successfully demonstrated their ability to take massive market share by launching hyper-compelling consumer propositions, while also operating at disruptively low unit costs. We believe that the regulator’s confidence in us serves as the testament to the unique strength and track record of our team and the attractiveness of our product philosophy.”
The Philippines reportedly has a $100 billion unsecured consumer lending opportunity and a $140 billion retail deposit market. Filipino customers with an average age of 24 represent the world’s largest market when it comes to daily internet and social media consumption. More than 50% of current banking customers in the Philippines say they’d switch their deposits to an all-digital bank.
Chuchi G. Fonacier, deputy governor in charge of Financial Supervision Sector at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, noted:
“Aligned with the BSP Governor’s drive of bringing the central bank closer to the Filipinos, we have consciously worked on ensuring that we maintain an enabling regulatory environment for responsible new financial system players. We have always welcomed players who offer reliable and inclusive financial services through innovative solutions.”