Filipino-led fintech BayaniPay has launched the first-ever Filipino American neobank with features powered by East West Bank, the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California.
This is the first time that East West Bank has made its digital banking platform available to enable Banking-as-a-Service.
Borderless Banking for Global Professionals
In the United States, underserved markets such as new immigrants are unable to secure financial services, making it harder for them to fulfill financial responsibilities in their home countries. BayaniPay aims to address this by reducing the barriers to opening a bank account and making seamless cross-border payments.
BayaniPay launched in November 2021, providing zero-fee remittances from California to the Philippines and market-leading foreign exchange rates in partnership with BDO Unibank. By integrating bank products into its platform, BayaniPay aims to address another pressing need of the estimated 4.2 million U.S.-based Filipinos.
Left to Right: Rakesh Nambiar, Chief Digital Officer, East West Bank; Janie Beaman, First Vice President, Senior Manager, Communications and Media, East West Bank; Cindy Ty, BayaniPay Board Member; Phillip Thong, BayaniPay Vice Chairman; BayaniPay CEO Winston Damarillo, Roger Oriel, BayaniPay Board Member; Parker Shi, Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, East West Bank; and Lingling Shi, Vice President – Digital Banking Technology, East West Bank
“Filipino Americans are one of the largest Asian American groups in the United States, with a $145 billion purchasing power. Despite their significant market size and buying power, no bank has catered to their financial needs and responsibilities both here and in the Philippines,” said BayaniPay CEO Winston Damarillo.
“As an immigrant myself, I’ve had firsthand experience with how financial services for global professionals were sorely lacking or came with high fees. That’s why we created BayaniPay,” he said.
“As a premier financial bridge between the United States and Asia, we have developed robust digital banking capabilities to meet our customers’ cross-border needs,” said Parker Shi, Executive Vice President and COO of East West Bank.
“We introduced direct-to-consumer digital banking services to provide customers around the world with comprehensive solutions that fit their lifestyle. This partnership enables fintech providers like BayaniPay to embed our products and services to serve a whole new group of customers,” he added.
A Financial Bridge to the Philippines
BayaniPay’s pioneering neobank lets users open an East West Bank-powered Easy Digital Checking Account, order a co-branded Visa debit card, and send zero-fee, faster remittances to the Philippines. True to its promise of “borderless banking,” the updated suite of features aims to create a seamless experience for both users and their beneficiaries overseas.
With the launch of the neobank, recipients in the Philippines can now receive their BayaniPay remittances in 12 hours or less through most national banks, as well as many rural banks, pawnshops, or cash pick-up outlets. By sending money using BayaniPay’s market-leading foreign exchange rates, recipients receive more of their money for every dollar sent—a significant benefit to recipients of regular remittances and charitable donations.
Looking ahead, BayaniPay aims to streamline a variety of cross-border transactions for global professionals from different countries of origin.
BayaniPay is currently available in California, with availability in more states soon to follow.
