Is Maya (PayMaya) profitable in 2026?

Yes. Maya Group reported its first full year of profitability in FY2025 with net income of 1.7 billion pesos, alongside 10.7 million bank customers and 256 billion pesos in cumulative loan disbursements since 2022, per an April 17, 2026 report.

Who owns Maya (PayMaya)?

As of July 2026, PLDT holds about 39.6%, KKR about 30%, Tencent about 15%, and IFC about 10% of Maya. PLDT has said it intends to preserve its stake via preemptive rights ahead of a planned IPO.

Is Maya going public and when?

PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said in July 2026 Maya is targeting a US listing followed by a Philippine IPO in H2 2026, but as of June 2026 PLDT was negotiating with KKR over unresolved issues still blocking the process.

Who is Maya's biggest competitor?

GCash, the dominant Philippine e-wallet backed by Globe Telecom, Ant Group, Ayala Corp, and MUFG (8% stake valuing GCash near $5B in August 2024), with Mitsubishi's 50% acquisition of its parent cleared by regulators in July 2025.

Could AI replace Maya's banking business?

No. Maya holds one of only six BSP digital banking licenses in the Philippines, a regulatory door effectively closed since 2022, plus PDIC insurance and a 55,000-agent network; generic AI models cannot hold deposits or obtain a license, per company disclosures.

How healthy is Maya's loan book?

As of March 2026, Maya's loan book stood at 33 billion pesos with a non-performing loan ratio of 4.9% and net interest margin of 17.1%, per a June 11, 2026 Newswav report on Maya's IPO plans.

Payments companies · subsidiary of Voyager Innovations (PLDT/Smart Communications ~40% owner; KKR ~30%, Tencent ~15%, IFC ~10%) · Philippines

Maya (PayMaya)

maya.ph ↗

Philippine digital bank and wallet, formerly PayMaya, licensed by BSP.

Hard to displace

Assessed 26 July 2026 · Evidence as of 26 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 26 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Resolution of KKR-PLDT ownership issues ahead of planned dual US+PH IPO

The call

Maya holds a scarce banking license and a growing deposit base while it works through IPO ownership questions and watches thin-file loan quality.

Maya is a digital bank in the Philippines that lets people save money, borrow, and pay bills through phones and a network of 55,000 agents. It is hard to replace because the government only gives out a few licenses to do this work, Maya has ten years of customer data that helps it make lending decisions, and its army of agents across the country took years to build. Traditional banks like BDO and BPI cannot catch up easily because they still pay for thousands of branch offices. AI helps Maya decide who gets loans faster, but AI by itself cannot get a government license or build that agent network. The one thing to watch is whether Maya's AI-powered loans to people without credit history stay healthy or start defaulting at high rates.

Why

AI pressure: GCash's AI-driven lending tools (GCredit, GGives). GCash already runs AI credit scoring for the same thin-file borrowers Maya's AI underwriting targets, competing on speed and reach. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: GCash (Globe/Ant Group, now backed by Mitsubishi capital). GCash's larger user base and fresh Mitsubishi capital let it push deeper into lending and merchant payments where Maya also competes. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. One of only six BSP digital-bank licenses, PDIC-insured deposits, a decade of transaction data, and a 55,000-agent network new entrants can't quickly copy.

What would change this call

GCash announces new lending or merchant-acquiring products funded by Mitsubishi UFJ capital. Would show GCash using new capital to pressure Maya's margins and market share.
Maya's NPL ratio rises above 4.9% in Q3 or Q4 2026 PLDT disclosures. Would show thin-file AI-underwritten lending quality deteriorating.
Maya's dual US and PH IPO timeline slips again past H2 2026 due to KKR-PLDT issues. Would show ownership and liquidity uncertainty persisting, delaying capital access.

Key numbers

₱1.7B net income, first full profitable year (FY2025)
₱77.7B assets, #1 Philippine digital bank (2026-06-16)
₱76B deposits, up 73% year over year (2026-03)

Named risks

Planned dual-listing IPO stalled by unresolved PLDT-KKR issues as of June 2026. Severity: high
Credit quality on AI-underwritten thin-file lending unaudited, NPL at 4.9% Mar 2026. Severity: medium
GCash's deeper capital backing (Ant, MUFG, Mitsubishi) could compress Maya's 17.1% NIM. Severity: medium
Vendor-claimed 98% fraud reduction and $2.1B ML-underwritten loans are unaudited. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
GCash	contesting	MUFG valued GCash ~$5B Aug 2024; Mitsubishi cleared for 50% of GCash parent Jul 2025
GoTyme Bank	gaining on	Trade press cites 150% debit surge and rapid user growth reported Feb 2026
BDO, BPI, Metrobank	contesting	BPI eliminated InstaPay/PESONet fees to compete with digital wallets, cited Apr 2026

Questions people ask

Is Maya (PayMaya) profitable in 2026?: Yes. Maya Group reported its first full year of profitability in FY2025 with net income of 1.7 billion pesos, alongside 10.7 million bank customers and 256 billion pesos in cumulative loan disbursements since 2022, per an April 17, 2026 report.
Who owns Maya (PayMaya)?: As of July 2026, PLDT holds about 39.6%, KKR about 30%, Tencent about 15%, and IFC about 10% of Maya. PLDT has said it intends to preserve its stake via preemptive rights ahead of a planned IPO.
Is Maya going public and when?: PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said in July 2026 Maya is targeting a US listing followed by a Philippine IPO in H2 2026, but as of June 2026 PLDT was negotiating with KKR over unresolved issues still blocking the process.
Who is Maya's biggest competitor?: GCash, the dominant Philippine e-wallet backed by Globe Telecom, Ant Group, Ayala Corp, and MUFG (8% stake valuing GCash near $5B in August 2024), with Mitsubishi's 50% acquisition of its parent cleared by regulators in July 2025.
Could AI replace Maya's banking business?: No. Maya holds one of only six BSP digital banking licenses in the Philippines, a regulatory door effectively closed since 2022, plus PDIC insurance and a 55,000-agent network; generic AI models cannot hold deposits or obtain a license, per company disclosures.
How healthy is Maya's loan book?: As of March 2026, Maya's loan book stood at 33 billion pesos with a non-performing loan ratio of 4.9% and net interest margin of 17.1%, per a June 11, 2026 Newswav report on Maya's IPO plans.

Timeline

2026-07-08PLDT chair announces plan for Maya dual US then Philippine IPO listing in H2 2026
2026-06-11PLDT negotiating with KKR over issues blocking IPO; deposits 76B pesos, NPL 4.9%, NIM 17.1%
2026-04-17Maya reports 1.7B peso FY2025 net income, first profitable year, 10.7M customers
2025-08-12PLDT H1 2025 results show Maya turnaround; Q2 net income 582M pesos vs prior year loss
2025-07-31Philippine Competition Commission clears Mitsubishi 50% acquisition of GCash parent
2025-07-19Maya adopts Databricks lakehouse platform for AI-scaled lending and fraud detection
2025-05-05Maya launches Paleng-Kita AI-scored microcredit for vendors via Maya Advance
2025-04-22Maya achieves income profitability in Q1 2025 for the first time
2025-01-17KKR engages Goldman Sachs to explore Maya stake sale above $2B valuation
2022-04-12Voyager Innovations raises $210M at $1.4B valuation; PayMaya rebrands to Maya

Revision history

26 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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