First digital-only bank launches in the Philippines
The first digital-only bank –or neobank – has launched in the Philippines on March 18. Tonik went live as a completely branchless way of banking on a mobile platform and targets to “fundamentally disrupt” the Filipino retail banking industry, the company announced.
Tonik founder and CEO Greg Krasnov said in a press conference a the launch day that Tonik was launching its banking services in the Philippines as it looks to tap the country’s huge unbanked population, but also to compete with the digital offerings of established banks..
To attract customers, Tonik will offer an interest rate of four to 4.5 per cent per annum for regular savings accounts and a whopping six per cent for time deposits, presently the highest-yielding bank deposit facility in a record-low interest rate environment in the country.
The bank began as a fintech startup in Singapore two years ago and raised $21 million in a financing round to launch its first digital offerings in the Philippines. It obtained its banking license from the Philippines central bank in January 2020.
Account opening in less than five minutes
The neobank’s potential customers can open a fully functional banking account in under five minutes by using the Tonik App on their phone or computer, present an ID card and do a selfie, the company said. A Tonik account can be easily topped up in various ways, including interbank transfers, through a debit card or with cash at around 10,000 retail agents across the country.
Furthermore, immediately upon opening an account, the customer is issued a virtual Mastercard debit card that can be used at a variety of e-merchants. The product offer will soon be expanded to include a physical debit card and with digital consumer loan offerings.
“There is a very large market and most of the clients of the existing banks are deeply unsatisfied with what the banks are offering. Also, the interest rates of those banks are very unattractive and that’s unfair. We are looking forward to seeing how many Filipinos will respond to our offer but so far, our test results have been extremely promising,” Krasnov said.
Tonik offers virtual banking only The first digital-only bank –or neobank – has launched in the Philippines on March 18. Tonik went live as a completely branchless way of banking on a mobile platform and targets to “fundamentally disrupt” the Filipino retail banking industry, the company announced. Tonik founder and CEO Greg Krasnov said in a press conference a the launch day that Tonik was launching its banking services in the Philippines as it looks to tap the country’s huge unbanked population, but also to compete with the digital offerings of established banks.. To attract customers, Tonik will offer an...
The first digital-only bank –or neobank – has launched in the Philippines on March 18. Tonik went live as a completely branchless way of banking on a mobile platform and targets to “fundamentally disrupt” the Filipino retail banking industry, the company announced.
Tonik founder and CEO Greg Krasnov said in a press conference a the launch day that Tonik was launching its banking services in the Philippines as it looks to tap the country’s huge unbanked population, but also to compete with the digital offerings of established banks..
To attract customers, Tonik will offer an interest rate of four to 4.5 per cent per annum for regular savings accounts and a whopping six per cent for time deposits, presently the highest-yielding bank deposit facility in a record-low interest rate environment in the country.
The bank began as a fintech startup in Singapore two years ago and raised $21 million in a financing round to launch its first digital offerings in the Philippines. It obtained its banking license from the Philippines central bank in January 2020.
Account opening in less than five minutes
The neobank’s potential customers can open a fully functional banking account in under five minutes by using the Tonik App on their phone or computer, present an ID card and do a selfie, the company said. A Tonik account can be easily topped up in various ways, including interbank transfers, through a debit card or with cash at around 10,000 retail agents across the country.
Furthermore, immediately upon opening an account, the customer is issued a virtual Mastercard debit card that can be used at a variety of e-merchants. The product offer will soon be expanded to include a physical debit card and with digital consumer loan offerings.
“There is a very large market and most of the clients of the existing banks are deeply unsatisfied with what the banks are offering. Also, the interest rates of those banks are very unattractive and that’s unfair. We are looking forward to seeing how many Filipinos will respond to our offer but so far, our test results have been extremely promising,” Krasnov said.
