The Philippines is emerging as one of the most attractive fintech markets in the region as limited access to formal credit leaves significant room for digital financial services providers to expand, according to BillEase co-founder Georg Steiger.
“The Philippines is the most exciting fintech market with massive underserved need, and it is starting to develop,” Steiger said in a statement to CrowdFund Insider. “We are in a great position to lead and benefit from that growth.”
Steiger said digital financial services in the Philippines remain at an earlier stage of development compared with neighbouring markets, while much of the population continues to have limited access to formal credit.
His comments come after Jin Chan Invest and its subsidiaries, the Singapore-based group that owns BillEase, nearly doubled revenue in 2025 as rapid lending growth drove higher earnings.
Even as credit loss provisions, cost of services and other expenses surged, the group reported revenue of $151.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, up 82% from $83.3 million a year earlier.
Net income climbed 57% to $13.6 million from $8.7 million, marking its third consecutive profitable year.
The group’s financial statements showed gross profit increased to $119.2 million from $64.9 million, while other income more than doubled to $3.2 million.
Other income included gains from the collection of non-performing loans and interest income, among other items.
Profit before tax rose to $18.2 million from $12 million despite higher costs associated with the group’s expanding loan portfolio.
BillEase’s gross loan book grew to $212.1 million in 2025, with growth coming from both new and existing borrowers. The platform added about 1.3 million new customers during the year, or more than 100,000 a month, while existing customers used BillEase more frequently and across more use cases, Steiger said.
All of the growth was funded from operating profits rather than fresh capital, he added.
The group recorded $103.8 million in administrative and other operating expenses, of which about $75.3 million represented expected credit loss provisions.
Steiger said BillEase views the provisions more as a cost of goods than overhead because it recognises expected losses early, in the year a loan is originated, rather than allowing non-performing balances to remain on its balance sheet.
The increase was also partly a consequence of the company’s rapid customer growth, as lending to new borrowers typically carries greater risk than lending to repeat customers, he said. Steiger added that credit loss provisions remained within the company’s internal targets for the year and are expected to broadly track revenue over time.
The remaining roughly $28.5 million in operating spending reflected investments in marketing, expanding BillEase’s on-the-ground sales force and preparations for its banking operations.
“That is a deliberate choice,” Steiger said. “Most of the Filipino population still has limited access to formal credit, and digital financial services here are at an earlier stage than in neighbouring markets.”
He said the company believes this is the right time to invest in distribution and capabilities as the Philippine market develops rapidly, with fintech firms that establish scale now likely to be better positioned as the sector matures.