Start your own digital banking app in the Philippines and take on BDO Unibank and GCash
By SendPay Business · · 3 min read
In the Philippines, e-wallets have become the everyday way to pay bills, shop and send money home. Most of that money flows through a handful of names: BDO Unibank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Metrobank and BPI, plus apps like GCash and Maya. Every one of them started as somebody's idea. Yours can be next: your own digital banking app, under your own name, with your own fees.
Who you'd be competing with in the Philippines
The big banks, BDO Unibank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Metrobank and BPI, have the branches and the history. The fast-growing apps, like GCash and Maya, won because they were simpler and cheaper to use. That gap is where a new brand wins: a community, a niche, a language or a type of customer the giants treat as an afterthought.
What you can launch under your own brand
An everyday account app with balances and a branded card, a money transfer app, a payment-link product for invoices, a marketplace that pays its sellers, or a membership platform. Each is a template: your name, your colours, your domain, your fees.
How it works, in a few clicks
Pick the template closest to your idea, type your platform name and preview every page before you pay.
- Pick a template.
- Name it and choose your colours. The site changes as you type.
- Preview the finished platform, page by page.
- Verify with a selfie and pay your invoice.
- Go live on your own domain within 24 hours and invite your first users.
You set the fees, you keep them
Charge 1%, 2.9% or nothing: it's your call. On every peso your users move, your platform earns the fee you set. Your users sign up with you, not with us.
Permissions: the honest part
The accounts, cards and payments behind your platform are powered by licensed partners. Depending on what your platform does and who it serves, you may also need your own registration, and serving customers in the Philippines can bring local rules from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. We tell you in writing which permissions apply to your platform before you pay, and introduce specialists who handle them. We are not licensed advisers and don't guarantee outcomes.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
Can I really compete with BDO Unibank?
Not on size on day one. But you can beat any big bank on focus: a platform built for one community or one kind of customer, with a better experience and fairer fees. That's how every challenger started.
Can I call it a bank?
In most countries, including the Philippines, "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, an app or a platform. Your users still get a balance and a way to pay.
Is SendPay Business connected to BDO Unibank or GCash?
No. We name them only to describe the market. SendPay Business is an independent technology company, not a bank.
What should I call my app?
Pick a short name that is easy to say in the Philippines, has a free domain, and doesn't use the word "bank". The free name generator gives you ideas and opens your favourite straight in the builder.
Payment app name generator →How much could my platform earn?
It depends on how many users you have, how much they move and the fee you set. Put your own numbers into the free calculator to see what your platform could earn in peso terms each month.
Platform earnings calculator →Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers. Tick each step off as you go.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
- Build an app like GCash, under your own brand
- Build an app like Maya, under your own brand
- Build an app like PayMongo, under your own brand
- Build an app like GoTyme, under your own brand
- Build an app like Tonik, under your own brand
- Build an app like BDO Unibank, under your own brand
- Build an app like BPI, under your own brand
- Build an app like Metrobank, under your own brand
- Build an app like Security Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like LandBank, under your own brand
- Build an app like RCBC, under your own brand
- Build an app like UnionBank, under your own brand
- Build an app like China Bank, under your own brand
- Build an app like Maybank Philippines, under your own brand
- Start your own digital banking app in Manila and take on BDO Unibank and GCash
- Start your own digital banking app in Cebu and take on BDO Unibank and GCash
- Start your own digital banking app in Davao and take on BDO Unibank and GCash
- Start your own digital banking app in Quezon City and take on BDO Unibank and GCash
- How to start your own bank-style app in the UK (without being a bank)
- White-label fintech platform: what it is and how it works
- How to set the fees on your own payment platform, and when it pays for itself
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.