MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Wednesday said it has issued Certificates of Authority to Operate to 2 more digital banks, which would allow them to proceed with full operations.

In total, all 6 licensed digital banks are now allowed to operate in the country, the central bank said in a statement.

The 2 latest certificates were issued to UnionBank's UnionDigital Bank Inc and the Gokongwei Group's GoTyme Bank Corp, the BSP said.

It said Tonik Digital Bank Inc and Maya Bank Inc were authorized in the first quarter of 2022, while LandBank's Overseas Filipino Bank Inc and UnoBank Inc were authorized in the second quarter.

"The BSP issues the COA to Operate to digital banks that have substantially complied with the BSP’s conditions for approval and pre-operating requirements," it said.

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Digital banks have no physical branches and their financial products are processed entirely on digital platforms and online.

Requirements for the certificate include capitalization, risk and governance structure and information technology systems, among others, the central bank said.

So far, OF Bank, Tonik Bank and Maya are now fully operational, while UnionDigital, UnoBank and GoTyme have commenced limited operations, the BSP said.

UnoBank, UnionDigital and GoTyme are expected to officially launch in the second half of the year.

From January to June 2022, the volume and value of electronic payments and financial services processed through digital banks reached 1.4 million and P8.45 billion, respectively, the BSP said.

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