Next banking battle seen moving beyond digital vs traditional

MANILA — The next battle in Philippine banking may not be between digital and traditional players, but between ecosystems, or which players can provide the widest range of financial services with the greatest convenience.

That is the bet Billease Bank is making as it moves beyond buy-now-pay-later and consumer credit into savings, deposits and payments, bringing those services together through the Billease app.

Billease Bank president and CEO Dennis Valdes said the goal is to complete what he calls the group’s “full cycle” of financial services, allowing customers to borrow, save and make payments within the same ecosystem. 

And unlike a bank starting from scratch, Billease is entering banking with an established consumer-finance business and years of customer and credit data.

“Having the history for their deposits, that can further show the full lifetime value of a customer,” Valdes told ANC’s Startup with Ron Cruz. 

He said combining deposit behavior with credit information could give the bank greater visibility into customers and potentially help determine whether they qualify for higher credit limits.

That is a very different proposition from simply launching another banking app.

Billease Bank is positioning itself to move with the customer across different financial needs: credit first, then deposits, payments, savings and eventually investment.

The strategy comes as competition intensifies in Philippine banking. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed digital banks held about P171.5 billion in deposits as of June 2026, up from P153 billion in March. Digital-bank loan portfolios stood at about P55.9 billion in June, up from P48.9 billion in March. 

Billease is also putting substantial money behind its transformation.

The bank received a P500-million capital injection in June 2026, with total capitalization targeted at more than P1 billion by year-end. The company says the investment will support governance, systems and new banking products. 

And the timing is significant.

In September, the BSP issued new prudential requirements for technology-driven thrift, rural and cooperative banks. Under the new rules, banks shifting toward a digital-bank business model may be required to meet the P1-billion minimum capital requirement and comply with prudential standards applicable to digital banks. 

Billease Bank is doing that transformation through an institution with a long history: the former Rural Bank of Sta. Maria in Ilocos Sur was established in 1969 and was formally renamed Billease Bank in September 2026. 

But Valdes says the first battle is not necessarily for new customers. It is for the customers Billease already has.

The bank plans to initially tap its existing customer base, making it easier for them to move from using Billease for credit to using it for broader banking services.

“In terms of onboarding these customers, that’s supposed to be something that’s there already,” Valdes said. “That’s the low-hanging fruit.” 

That raises the bigger question: Can a company that customers already trust to lend them money convince those same customers to trust it with their savings?

Valdes believes the answer starts with the Billease brand, which he says has built trust over nine to 10 years. 

But he also sees the bank’s responsibility extending beyond lending.

For Valdes, the real measure of success will be whether customers eventually save, invest and achieve financial goals, rather than simply open another bank account.

“The real test of customers improving their financial position is, do they invest properly? Do they save?” he said. 

He described that as a process of helping customers “graduate” from simply having a bank account toward building a stronger financial position. 

So the digital-bank race may be getting bigger and more personal. The question is no longer just who has the better app. It is who can become the customer’s financial home.