Tonik is the first digital-only Neobank in the Philippines
By: Tricia Ang | 6 April 2021
The opportunity is ripe for the Tonik, the first digital-only bank in the country as Indonesia has a population of over 275 million, with 70% currently unbanked. Tonik is headquartered in Singapore, and is backed by venture capital funds including Sequoia India and Point72.
Neobank, Tonik hopes to disrupt the traditional banking sector and has launched out its long-awaited deposit, payment, and card products to consumers in the Philippines.
The digital-only bank aims to boost financial inclusion, as unbanked customers set up an account within 5 minutes through its mobile application. The app comes with a virtual MasterCard debit card. Accounts can be topped up via interbank transfer, debit card, or in cash at close to 10,000 retail agents across the country.
Tonik said its use of technology is a game-changer as it will dramatically cut operating costs, and allows it to offer competitive interest rates and not to charge unfair fees to customers. It plans to expand its offer to include a physical debit card and to allow customers to take out an all-digital consumer loan.
“We expect our proposition for the #NeoNormal to resonate particularly strongly with the “digital natives” in the Philippines, who constitute most of the population” Long Pineda, president of Tonik Digital Bank, said in an announcement on Friday.
