Tonik founder and CEO Greg Krasnov said that Tonik was launching its banking services in the Philippines as it looks to tap the country’s huge unbanked population, but also to compete with the digital offerings of established banks.

To attract customers, Tonik will offer an interest rate of four to 4.5 percent per annum for regular savings accounts and a whopping six percent for time deposits, presently the highest-yielding bank deposit facility in a record-low interest rate environment in the country.

The bank began as a fintech startup in Singapore two years ago and raised $21 million in a financing round to launch its first digital offerings in the Philippines.

The neobank’s potential customers can open a fully functional banking account in under five minutes by using the Tonik App on their phone or computer, present an ID card and do a selfie, the company said. A Tonik account can be easily topped up in various ways, including interbank transfers, through a debit card, or with cash at around 10,000 retail agents across the country.

Furthermore, immediately upon opening an account, the customer is issued a virtual Mastercard debit card that can be used at a variety of e-merchants. 

According to Invesvine