For the First Time, Philippine SMEs Can Get Business Payment Cards Without a Bank Account

MANILA, Philippines, 9 June 2026 — Philippine SMEs can now issue and use a business prepaid card in under five minutes with no branch visit and no bank account required.

Mastercard, PayMongo, and Paymentology are launching a Virtual Prepaid Card with business functions: a pre-funded card that gives businesses full control over spending, lets them pay suppliers and teams digitally, and runs on the same globally licensed infrastructure used by large enterprises.

As more Philippine businesses adopt digital channels and payment solutions, access to modern financial infrastructure has become increasingly important. Yet despite the rapid shift toward digital commerce, only 1 in 5 business payments are made digitally, and about half of Filipino adults hold a formal financial account.

Mastercard, PayMongo, and Paymentology are stepping in to fill that gap. The Virtual Prepaid Card with functions built specifically for the SMEs that drive the Philippine economy but have had little access to business-grade financial tools.

“SMEs are operating in an increasingly digital economy, but access to modern payment tools has not always kept pace. Through our collaboration with PayMongo and Paymentology, Mastercard is helping expand access to secure and accessible virtual payment capabilities, enabling businesses to participate more fully in a more connected economy through the scale and reach of our global network,” says Jason Crasto, Country Manager, Philippines, Mastercard. 

What Makes This Different 

This card is designed around how businesses manage payments and spending, not personal consumer use. Merchants can onboard through PayMongo and fund their card through their PayMongo wallet, giving them a faster and more seamless digital alternative to traditional payment processes.

Here's what SMEs can do with it:

1. Control where every peso goes. Business owners can set spending limits per card, track transactions as they happen, and issue separate cards for different teams or purposes.
2. Pay people and suppliers faster. Virtual cards can be issued to freelancers and field teams for immediate use, removing the friction of traditional fund transfers.
3. Start spending on business expenses immediately. Once onboarded, a business can issue a card and pay for the tools and vendors that keep operations running.
4. No platform switch needed. For existing PayMongo merchants, this is built into the same system they already use to run their business.
5. Enterprise-grade protection, without the enterprise price. Every card issued through this collaboration runs on Paymentology's globally licensed infrastructure, and Mastercard and APATA’s guardrails, meaning fraud controls, transaction monitoring, and compliance standards.

Unlike corporate credit cards, which requires a bank-approved credit line and can take weeks to process, this is a pre-funded prepaid card. Businesses can load funds through their PayMongo wallet – which takes under five minutes to set up – and spend directly from their own balance, giving them full control without taking on credit.

"We are giving Filipino entrepreneurs a real, honest shot at growing their business. We're giving SMEs a financial tool they can control – one that enforces the discipline to spend only on what moves the business forward, and nothing else. The biggest motivation for any business owner is seeing their business actually grow. This is the tool that lets them see it, and build on it,” says PayMongo CEO Jojo Malolos.

And the policy signals have the same ambition. The BSP's Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap achieved their target of 50% digital retail transactions by 2023. The momentum is there; what has been missing is the financial accessibility that lets SMEs participate in the economy they are already helping to build.

Built on a Regulated Infrastructure

"The Philippines is a market where small businesses power the majority of employment but have had almost no access to the card infrastructure that large enterprises do. Through our collaboration with PayMongo and Mastercard, we are changing that by bringing global-grade card issuance to every Philippine business, regardless of size,” says Paymentology Head of Growth in APAC, Minh Hua Truong.  

That infrastructure is what this collaboration provides. Paymentology is a global card processing company licensed across multiple markets. Through its collaboration with Mastercard, it extends that license to PayMongo, making it possible for Philippine businesses to access pre-funded business payment cards without holding a banking license themselves.

Paymentology and Mastercard provide the licensed framework, with Mastercard also enabling seamless, secure, and globally accepted payment experiences through its advanced network and fraud protection capabilities; the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas monitors PayMongo's operations; and the platform is PCI-DSS 4.0 and SOC 2 Type 2 certified, the same security standards required of the country's largest financial institutions.

PayMongo, Mastercard, and Paymentology are building a broader suite of card-based tools aimed at closing the financial access gap for Filipino businesses. This launch is just the beginning of a card infrastructure roadmap. 

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About Mastercard

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

www.mastercard.com

About PayMongo
PayMongo is a financial operating system for growing businesses in the Philippines. It enables merchants to accept payments, move money, and borrow capital through a single, unified operating system. From startups and SMEs to enterprises, thousands of Filipino merchants across retail, food, e-commerce, and services trust PayMongo to run their financial infrastructure so they can focus on scaling their business. PayMongo is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and it is also PCI-DSS 4.0 and SOC 2 Type 2 certified, ensuring the highest standards of security and reliability.

www.paymongo.com

About Paymentology
Paymentology is a global issuer processor giving fintechs, digital banks and retail banks the technology, expertise and flexibility to launch, manage and scale a broad variety of card programmes around the world.

Built on Lume, the platform for growth, Paymentology processes billions of transactions on behalf of customers globally, across 65+ countries and 14 time zones.

With 500+ payments experts bringing deep local market knowledge to every engagement, Paymentology combines global reach with regional expertise, helping clients build momentum, enter new markets and unlock unstoppable growth.

www.paymentology.com