The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) marked its 175th anniversary in August 2026 with a bold declaration: it intends to bank half of the adult Filipino population, or roughly 50 million customers.
The bank’s ambitious mission, articulated by President and CEO TG Limcaoco, reflects both the institution’s historic legacy and its evolving role in driving financial inclusion, sustainability, and digital transformation.
175 Years of “Let’s Make it Easy”
At the anniversary celebration, Limcaoco emphasized that BPI’s mandate is to “go out and get them”—a rallying cry to reach the millions of Filipinos who remain unbanked or underbanked.
From just 8 million customers in 2021, BPI has expanded to over 18 million by 2025, thanks to waived transfer fees, agency banking partnerships with more than 7,000 retail stores, and streamlined onboarding linked to the national ID system.
The bank has also invested heavily in sustainability, with 100 branches now operating on clean energy and lending programs aligned with its Sustainable Development Finance framework. These initiatives demonstrate BPI’s combo mission: expanding access to financial services while building a more resilient and sustainable economy.
Limcaoco framed BPI’s mission as building a better Philippines, one family and one community at a time. Financial inclusion is central to this mission, but so is sustainability.
Through BPI Foundation, the bank has reached more than 5.6 million beneficiaries with programs in financial wellness, education, and social entrepreneurship.
This target pins an extensive understanding that banking is not just about deposits and loans—it is about enabling households to save, invest, and plan for the future. Through embedded sustainability into its operations, BPI also shows that financial inclusion must be aligned with environmental and social responsibility.
BPI’s Founding History
Founded on August 1, 1851 as Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II, BPI is the oldest bank in Southeast Asia. It issued the Philippines’ first paper money and served as a de facto central bank during the colonial era.
Over the decades, BPI evolved through Spanish, American, and post-war periods, adapting to crises and modernization.
The 175th anniversary was marked by a Grand Thanksgiving Mass at Manila Cathedral and an art exhibit at Ayala Museum featuring works of 14 National Artists. These celebrations highlighted BPI’s dual legacy of being a financial institution that has stood alongside generations of Filipinos, and a cultural patron that has contributed to the nation’s identity.
From its colonial beginnings, BPI grew into one of the country’s most trusted institutions. By the 20th century, it had expanded nationwide, becoming synonymous with stability and reliability. In the 1980s, it pioneered ATM rollouts, and by the 2000s, it had embraced digital banking.
By 2024, BPI had doubled its client base to 16 million, adding 5 million new clients in one year. When 2025 came, the base reached 18.2 million, supported by agency banking and digital platforms.
Its microfinance arm, BanKo, extended ₱21.7 billion in loans in 2024, while digital users surged to 7 million mobile enrollees. Milestones after milestones cemented BPI’s role as a staple institution trusted across generations.
From a Traditional Bank to Vybe: The Digital Transformation
BPI’s digital wallet, Vybe, represents its pivot into the fintech space. Vybe enables QR Ph payments, free transfers to banks and e-wallets, bill payments, cardless withdrawals, and rewards integration.
Partnerships with M Lhuillier’s 3,000 branches expanded cash-in access nationwide, making Vybe a bridge between traditional banking and digital convenience.
Vybe is open to both BPI and non-BPI clients, signaling inclusivity. Its integration with QR Ph ensures interoperability across wallets and banks, aligning with BSP’s push for a unified digital payments ecosystem.
Through the offering of features comparable to GCash and Maya, Vybe positions BPI as a credible competitor in the digital wallet space.
A Shared Goal for the Future Ahead
Beyond its ambitious target of 50 million customers, BPI’s strategem demonstrates the bigger aspirations of Philippine financial institutions: to embed themselves more deeply into the daily lives of Filipinos, while extending services to the millions living and working overseas.
BPI is aiming to scale agency banking, expanding sustainable lending portfolios, and integrating lifestyle services into its digital wallet Vybe. The acquisition of Robinsons Bank in 2024 broadened its reach, while SEED bond issuances raised billions for environmental and social projects, signaling a commitment to sustainability.
But the bigger picture is that banks in the Philippines are aligning with the vision of a financial system that is inclusive, interoperable, and globally connected.
Institutions like BPI, Metrobank, and UnionBank are not only competing domestically with fintechs like GCash, Maya, and DOPAY but are also positioning themselves to serve overseas Filipinos—remittance flows that remain a lifeline for the economy.
Through integration of cross‑border payment solutions, digital wallets, and partnerships with global platforms, Philippine banks aim to ensure that Filipinos abroad can remit, invest, and manage finances seamlessly.
This dual focus—domestic inclusion and overseas connectivity—underscores the evolving role of financial institutions. They are no longer just custodians of deposits; they are enablers of mobility, sustainability, and digital transformation.
BPI’s future goals mean embedding financial services into everyday life, whether through a QR payment at a sari‑sari store in Manila or a remittance transfer from Dubai.
For the industry as a whole, a digital-first future starts with building a financial ecosystem that is resilient, inclusive, and globally integrated, ensuring that Filipinos everywhere are part of the country’s economic story.
Unbanked Challenge: Reaching the Unreachable Filipinos
Despite progress, BSP data shows that 50% of Filipino adults remained unbanked in 2025, down from 56% in 2021.
Household access rose to 85%, reflecting shared accounts rather than individual ownership. Identified barriers include income inequality, geographic isolation, and trust deficits.
BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2022–2028) and Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap aim to bridge these gaps through national ID integration, real-time payment systems like InstaPay and PESONet, and agency banking.
Financial institutions like BPI are critical partners in executing these programs, using both traditional and digital channels to reach underserved communities.
Comparatively, ASEAN peers like DBS in Singapore and CIMB in Malaysia have tackled inclusion through digital-first strategies, offering lessons for the Philippines.
BPI’s challenge is to adapt these models to local realities, ensuring that inclusion is not just about access but about meaningful participation in the financial system.
As BPI pursues its mission, DOPAY complements the financial inclusion agenda by offering BSP-licensed e-wallet and crypto wallet services. DOPAY integrates transformative payment solutions that reduce transaction costs, enhance security, and provide access to digital finance for the underbanked.
Combining compliance, transparency, and innovation, DOPAY supports the vision of a sustainable, cashless Philippines, ensuring that every Filipino—whether through a traditional bank or a digital wallet—has access to modern financial tools.
With DOPAY’s crypto wallet, you can gain crypto rewards for every trade under our Trade & Earn program. Not just that, with DOPAY’s Refer & Earn program, Filipinos can unlock new doors for earning possibilities with every successful referral.
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