Banking · Retail bank
Maya: e-wallet and digital bank in the Philippines
A Philippine app that combines an e-wallet (Maya Philippines, Inc.) and a licensed digital bank (Maya Bank, Inc.). Foreign nationals can have their account verified with a passport, but the status and the deposit protection differ depending on whether the funds are held in the wallet or at the bank.
Please note
Characteristics
- Family
- Retail bank
- Regulator
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Regulator country
- Philippines
- Deposit guarantee
- Partly
- Remote opening
- Yes
- Currencies
- PHP
- Services
- Savings · Payment card · International transfers
- Accepted residencies
- Philippines
- Refused residencies
- Not provided
- Home country
- Philippines
The account upgrade page requires foreign nationals to present a passport; for Philippine citizens, it requires one primary ID or two secondary IDs. It does not specify an age for foreign nationals or whether a Philippine residence permit is required, and it does not say whether Maya Bank's banking products are open to foreign nationals on the same terms as the wallet.
Entities and regulatory status
| Entity | Jurisdiction | Status | Regulator | Protection of funds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Bank, Inc.holds the accountBSP digital bank licence; PDIC membership not verified against a primary source. | Philippines | Banks with their own licence | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinasregister · maya.ph | PDIC |
| Maya Philippines, Inc.holds the accountPayment company that operates the Maya wallet; the precise type of BSP authorisation was not read in a primary source. | Philippines | Payment or e-money institutions | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinasregister · maya.ph |
Who can open or keep an account
| Country of residence | Case | Status | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | Opening | Conditions apply | Foreign nationals: passport required for verification; residence permit and access to banking products not specified.maya.ph |
| Philippines | Keeping after a move | Unknown | Not documented. |
A country missing from this table is neither accepted nor refused: the information is not published.
Published figures
- Account feeNot provided
- Brokerage feeNot provided
- Deposit guarantee ceilingup to ₱1,000,000rcbc.com · Verified on Nov 2, 2026
- Entry ticketNot provided
Which entity, which status
Maya brings two entities together in a single app. Maya Philippines, Inc. presents itself as the digital payments company that operates the wallet; Maya Bank, Inc. provides the digital banking services. Both are regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, according to Maya's page. Maya states that it is one of the six banks holding a BSP digital bank licence, and that the wallet, accessible in the same app, is separate from the savings accounts.
We classify the brand among licensed banks by virtue of Maya Bank, Inc., while recording the wallet entity as a payment institution. The name PayMaya, the wallet's former brand, is kept as an alias.
The page we read does not indicate which of the two entities holds the banking licence, even though the name suggests it, nor the type of authorisation held by the wallet. The BSP register was not consulted.
Who can open an account
For Philippine citizens aged at least figure being updated, verification is done with one primary ID (national ID card, passport, driver's licence, etc.) or two secondary IDs; minors follow a separate process with parental consent. For foreign nationals, the page requires a passport.
The page does not say whether a foreign national must reside in the Philippines, hold an ACR-I card or a visa, what minimum age applies to them, or whether they can access Maya Bank's savings and not only the wallet.
Account, card and currencies
The app combines a payment wallet, bank savings accounts in pesos, the Maya card and local payments.
Savings rates and fees are not reproduced: we have not consulted a dated official fee schedule.
Protection of funds
The statutory PDIC limit is up to ₱1,000,0001 per depositor per bank since March 2025, for member banks. It can only apply to deposits held by Maya Bank, Inc.; e-wallet funds fall under a different regime, which we have not documented.
Maya Bank's PDIC membership and the treatment of wallet funds have not been verified against a primary source.
The PDIC doubled its coverage limit with effect from 15 March 2025. It applies per depositor per bank: funds spread across several Philippine digital banks each benefit from their own limit, which is not the case for several accounts in the same bank.
Points to check
- Where the funds are held: Maya wallet or Maya Bank account.
- The conditions applied to foreign nationals for banking products, beyond passport verification.
- The exact status of each entity in the BSP register.
- Reporting obligations linked to your tax residence: a French tax resident must declare each year accounts opened, held, used or closed outside France, including those with online banks and payment wallets; other countries impose comparable obligations.
Sources and verification dates
- 1.
Deposit guarantee ceiling : ₱1,000,000
« Insurance Corporation (PDIC) is increased to One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) per depositor, per bank. »
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, « Important Advisory on the Depositors Maximum Deposit Insurance Coverage provided by the PDIC »Verified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source