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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider UNO Digital Bank achieves milestone, breaks even in February

UNO Digital Bank achieves milestone, breaks even in February

Published Mar 28, 2026 04:36 pm
UNObank Co-founder and CEO Manish Bhai
UNObank Co-founder and CEO Manish Bhai

The four-year-old UNO Digital Bank announced it achieved operating break-even as of February 2026, marking a key transition from early-stage investment to a sustainable, growth-oriented model.

“Achieving operating break-even at this stage is an important validation of our model. Our focus remains that of building a bank with strong fundamentals: that is, balancing growth with credit discipline and operational efficiency,” UNO Digital Bank president and chief executive officer (CEO) Manish Bhai said in a statement on Saturday, March 28.

In its four years of operation, UNO has expanded formal credit access across the Philippines while maintaining strict portfolio quality and risk discipline. Total loan disbursements have reached ₱15 billion, with the bank on track to grow its active loan book to over ₱10 billion by the end of 2026.

To bridge the credit gap, UNO leverages a real-time underwriting engine that evaluates modern data points beyond traditional credit history. This approach allows the bank to extend formal credit to a broader range of Filipinos, including those often overlooked by conventional institutions.

The bank has also strengthened its risk management capabilities, particularly in fraud detection, through cross-industry collaboration and real-time behavioral analytics. “Our goal is, and has always been, to make banking simple and accessible. We firmly believe customer value and operational discipline must go hand in hand,” Bhai said.

UNO Digital Bank continues to prioritize security and seamless access. The bank now offers free QR Ph transfers to all customers, eliminating friction in everyday digital payments. As the Philippine banking industry phases out SMS-based one-time passwords (OTPs), UNO remains one of the few local banks to combine top-tier security with zero-cost transactions.

“We recognized early on that OTPs were becoming a vulnerability. Since inception, our two-factor authentication (2FA) procedures have ensured our customers are protected by the highest security standards available today. While we continue to support various industry integrations, our core app experience has been biometric-led from day one. This ensures our customers are protected by the most secure and seamless authentication standards available in the market today,” Bhai added.

Looking ahead, “UNO Digital Bank is focused and on track to achieve full P&L breakeven within the current year, 2026. We are committed to scaling responsibly. Soon we will introduce new channels and products,” its chairman Kalidas Ghose said.

Over the next six months, the bank plans to further enhance its digital experience, expand credit offerings, and invest in distribution to reach a broader segment of the Filipino market.

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