Digital bank or a bank's app: what's the difference?

Only seven banks hold a BSP digital bank licence. Here's who they are, who only looks like one, and whether it matters for your money.

“Digital bank” gets used for almost any bank with a good app. In the Philippines it also means something specific: a licence category the BSP created in 2020 for banks that serve customers mainly through digital channels.

The seven BSP-licensed digital banks

As of October 2026, seven banks hold that licence:

Maya Bank
Tonik
GoTyme Bank
UNO Digital Bank
UnionDigital Bank
OFBank (Overseas Filipino Bank)
MariBank, the newest. It became the seventh licensee and has operated as a digital bank since 18 July 2026.

The BSP has raised the cap on digital bank licences from six to ten, so more may follow.

Banks people mistake for digital banks

These are popular, app-first, and often listed next to digital banks, but they hold other licences:

Bank	What it actually is
CIMB Bank PH	Commercial bank (BSP certificate, October 2018)
BanKo	Savings bank (BPI Direct BanKo, Inc., A Savings Bank)
Netbank	Rural bank (Netbank (A Rural Bank) Inc.)
OwnBank	Rural bank (formerly the Rural Bank of Cavite City)
DiskarTech	An app of RCBC, not a separate bank

Does the licence matter for you?

Less than you’d think:

Safety: the same. Every bank here is regulated by the BSP, and deposits at all of them are insured by PDIC up to ₱1 million per depositor, per bank. See Is my money safe in a digital bank?
Rates: the licence doesn’t decide them. The highest base savings rate we’ve verified is at BanKo, a savings bank, not a digital bank. Compare them on the rates table.
Branches: digital banks are built around the app. Some of the others (BanKo, for one) also have branches and cash agents, which helps if you deal in cash.

So read the licence as “what kind of bank is this”, then decide on the rate, the conditions, and whether you can get your money out the way you need to.