The adoption of digital technology in the financial services sector offers extensive opportunities for digital banks while at the same time threatening the monopoly of traditional banks, which tend to rely on outdated systems.

The increasing competition and the disruption in the banking markets provide confidence to Gokongwei -backed GoTyme Bank to compete head-on with formidable baking institutions in the country, following its partnership with Bancnet, and one of the world's digital payment enterprises, Visa.

"We will say that we will not be multiples of traditional banks. With that being said, it's not going to be our key differentiator against digital banks. We are much more competitive than our primary competition, and that's BDO and BPI," GoTyme president and CEO Nathaniel Clarke said at the launch of the GoTyme-Visa ATM Debit Card.

He went on to say, "This might sound arrogant, but we feel we have the partnership, the product set, and the capability to become the biggest bank in the Philippines."

He said GoTyme targets to become the country's top bank as it seeks to onboard some 10 million active users in the next five years.

"The traditional banks and branch-based approach will not reach the rest of the population. So there must be a new entrant, and compared to other new entrants, they are digital only, and they are only to serve millennials and those in the cities. So, someone has to win, and with this unique model we have, we are cautiously optimistic," Clarke stressed.

Expanding in Phl

Clarke said they had chosen the Philippines to expand, partnering with the Gokongwei Group, because most of its citizens are unbanked.

"We exist to unlock the financial potentials of all Filipinos. At least 70 percent of Filipinos are unbanked, only two percent have access to affordable credit cards, while two percent can buy stocks or bonds and grow their wealth. Instead, they grow their money in a savings account, or worse, it's under their mattress. The same goes for insurance, where less than two percent of Filipinos have access to insurance which means they are very susceptible to large shocks," according to Clarke.

Just last month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas greenlighted the partnership between the Gokongwei Group and Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme to carry high-quality digital banking services in the country, with a 60-40 share of investments, respectively.