Tonik, Netbank, and OneLot: Three Signals on Philippine Fintech Rails
Pre-Series C for a licensed digital bank, Series B for banking-as-a-service, and a record seed for used-car dealer finance—together they map embedded finance, SME credit, and regulated scale.
Source-backed regional brief from Tonik Digital Bank
Tonik Financial, controlling shareholder of Tonik Digital Bank, announced US$12 million in pre-Series C funding led by Diligent Capital Partners to scale capital-efficient lending—reinforcing that licensed digital banks with a lending thesis could still attract fresh capital in late 2025.
Netbank disclosed a Series B led by Altara Ventures with participation from existing investors, without public cheque size. Coverage stressed Netbank’s role as regulated banking-as-a-service—accounts, payments, cards, and lending APIs for platforms and fintechs—and noted strong revenue growth and profitability in recent financials.
OneLot raised US$3.3 million in a seed round co-led by Accion Ventures and 468 Capital, described in investor materials as the Philippines’ largest seed round of 2025. The company targets inventory financing and digital tools for independent used-car dealers—a concrete SME credit wedge in a fragmented market.
Read together, these three moves illustrate one national theme: capital flowing to businesses that combine regulation, infrastructure leverage, and measurable monetization—not only consumer apps.
Founders in Cebu and the Visayas can still take strategic lessons: embed finance partnerships often route through Manila-based rails; SME and logistics-adjacent credit remain underbuilt; due diligence on partners should include license scope and API maturity.