INTERVIEW
Philippines’ Tonik Digital Bank is a disruptor with a dash of humor Tonik Bank wants to become the first bank brand in the country with “a sense of humor”.
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ne of Philippines’ first neobanks aims to disrupt the local banking sector with two things: one, through their convenient, digital banking services with competitive rates; and two, through their unique and sometimes quirky personality. Debuting just last 30 March, Tonik Digital Bank kicked off operations with a market-leading deposit rate of 6% per annum (pa), and touted their goal to be known as a bank with a personality—or, as local president Long Pineda said, become the first bank brand with “a sense of humor and personality” in the Philippines. “Sadly, traditional banks have completely forgotten how to listen to their customers. So, we are on a quest to become the first bank brand in the Philippines with a sense of humor and an actual personality that consumers can relate to,” Pineda said. Numbers are already encouraging, with Tonik bank having secured $20m (PHP1b) in retail deposits within only a month of going live – a historic record for any new bank launching in the country, Greg Krasnov, founder and CEO of Tonik, the parent of Tonik Digital Bank and a Singapore-based fintech company, told Asian Banking & Finance in an interview. “The Philippines is one of the most digital-savvy countries in the world,” said Krasnov. “An overwhelming percent of the population are connected online and are avid users of smartphones, around 98.5% according to a 2021 study by We Are Social. That is a considerable number given that there are almost 111 million Filipinos now.” In contrast, 77% of Filipino adults remained unbanked, or 51.2 million of the 72 million local adult population, according to 2020 data from the BSP. This low banked percentage and high smartphone penetration equals a massive opportunity for digital only banks to fill the gap—a market with potential values of up to $140b in retail deposits and $100b in lending. Asian Banking & Finance caught up with Krasnov, Tonik founder and CEO, to learn more about their plans to break the Philippine banking mold and lead the way for a new era of digital banking in the country. At the announcement of your official launch, president Pineda said that your goal was to become the first bank brand with “a sense of humor and personality.” How does the bank and its team aim to do this? Indeed, one of the things that makes us unique is our humorous and quirky personality. This is evident in all our communication channels, especially in the tone of our app. We take pride in being the only known bank in the country
18 ASIAN BANKING AND FINANCE | Q3 2021
We want customers to feel welcomed in starting their “neobanking romance” with us
Greg Krasnov, founder and CEO, Tonik
who addresses our customers as “luv” or “hun”. Through this, we aim to make customers feel at ease and not intimidated of their banking partner, unlike how most traditional players who speak in more of a “stiff” and “corporate” style. We want to make them feel welcomed in starting their “neobanking romance” with us – a relationship that is warm and built on mutual trust and transparency. Tell us more about your products and services, and can you also share who is your target customer base? Tonik offers accessible, flexible, and inclusive financial services, including industry leading deposit interest rates of up to 6% per annum, and unique saving features such our Solo Stash and Group Stash products. Further, we offer industry leading rates for these stashes: up to 4% for solo and 4.5% for group. This allows for more convenience and better opportunities for customers to save and actually grow their money with us – a far cry from the tedious process and frustratingly low rates that they are accustomed to with traditional banks. Our target market has always been the majority of the adult population (around 70%) who are tech-savvy but are currently either underserved or unbanked. This is driven mostly by the lack of better alternatives or financial services that they can openly communicate with and entrust their money to without being intimidated or confused.
