The Philippines is making waves across Southeast Asia, leading the charge in bringing digital banking to the unbanked and unhappily banked. This insight was highlighted by a Maya executive at the Singapore Fintech Festival — Asia's premier fintech event. 

Maya — awarded as the Best Digital Bank in Southeast Asia by the World Digital Bank Awards and recognized by Forbes Magazine as among the World's Best Banks — stands out as a trailblazer in the region. The Philippines' #1 Digital Bank is recognized for redefining the financial journey, offering a full spectrum of financial services under one app for all consumers and a unified platform for businesses. 

"We have proven that digital banking is the real game changer. Our approach — providing financial services in one app with next-level experience — has reshaped consumers' relationship with their finances," said Shailesh Baidwan, Maya Group President and Maya Bank co-founder. "This paradigm shift has sparked our growth, drawing 2.6 million Filipinos to Maya in just over a year. And we are constantly adding more pioneering and game-changing innovations." 

Baidwan spoke at the exclusive Elevandi Insights roundtable on the Advancement of Financing and investment for Digital Inclusion organized by the International Finance Corporation, World Economic Forum, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore in conjunction with the SFF, a premiere event seen as a melting pot for finance, policy and technology pioneers.

Recent World Bank data highlights the vast potential in Southeast Asia: 65 percent of adults (except in Brunei and Timor Leste), on average, own a financial account, but a mere 28 percent are saving in banks, and just 19 percent are borrowing from them.  

The region's digital banks, buoyed by forward-thinking regulations, respond to this call for evolution with their breakthrough innovations and superior customer experience. The Philippines, for instance, has seen an explosive 44 percent boom in digital bank deposit accounts from March 2023 to June 2023, against the overall banking system's growth of just 8 percent.