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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Billease eyes 50% loan growth in 2026 following rural bank acquisition

Billease eyes 50% loan growth in 2026 following rural bank acquisition

Published Nov 20, 2025 09:39 pm

At A Glance

  • Billiease, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and consumer financing platform in the Philippines, is eyeing a 50 percent expansion in its lending in 2026, counting on its recent rural bank acquisition to pump up its loan volume.
Billease, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and consumer financing platform in the Philippines, is eyeing a 50-percent expansion in its lending in 2026, counting on its recent rural bank acquisition to pump up its loan volume.
“Billease will end the year somewhere above ₱10 billion in outstanding loan balance,” Georg Stieger, Billease co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), said during the fintech firm’s roundtable with media on Thursday, Nov. 20.
Stieger said that demand for its BNPL offering, the firm’s core product, would allow the company to grow its loan book by more than ₱5 billion annually. As such, he expects loan disbursements in 2026 to reach around ₱15 billion.
After acquiring Rural Bank of Sta. Maria (RBSM) in Ilocos Sur province, Billease has begun formally integrating regulated banking infrastructure to complete the firm’s ecosystem. However, despite the fintech’s high level of digital centricity, securing a digital banking license remains off the table.
“We are currently not applying for a digital banking license. We see this more as a digital-centric rather than traditional offering,” Stieger said.
“We’ll be keeping our rural banking license,” Stieger added, but noted that the firm might consider securing a larger banking license in the future.
Once the bank launches next year—also eyed for a name change—Billease expects it to contribute to the group’s balance sheet, as loans are booked both in-house and through partner banks.
Since its launch in 2017, Billease has disbursed roughly ₱100 billion in credit and has posted a repayment rate of around 90 percent.
Even as it offers services similar to Google Pay, a global mobile payment provider, Billease said it is actively preparing to support Google Wallet. Google Pay had its initial rollout early this week, led by Visa in partnership with Fintech Alliance PH.
“We’re looking at integrating Google Pay and Apple Pay very soon. Virtual cards are also in our pipeline, and we’re considering them as part of what we can offer to our customers later on,” Billease President and RBSM CEO Dennis Valdes said.
Billease point-of-sale (POS) product head Kurt Molina said Billease’s support for Google Pay, coupled with its expanded QRPh network, means the fintech is “becoming a true digital wallet for the uncarded Filipino.”
As for changes to the Billease app, Valdes said the consumer finance app could be repackaged as a digital-centric banking app, offering new services by the third quarter of 2026.
“By combining its technology with a regulated banking license, the group is transitioning from serving only BNPL needs to supporting customers’ everyday transactions, and soon, their savings and deposits,” the firm said in a statement.
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