Twenty-five years since its founding in 2000 as Smart Money and nine years after its rebrand as PayMaya in 2019, and three years after its subsequent overhaul as Maya in 2022, the PLDT-owned e-wallet firm has finally achieved net income profitability in the first quarter of 2025.
Maya marked the milestone as the company proclaimed that it has also become the nation’s largest digital bank by deposit base. It secured a digital bank license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2022.
“This achievement builds upon the strong financial momentum established in December 2024. Demonstrating its continued upward trajectory, Maya also significantly accelerated its topline growth during the same quarter, further expanding on the impressive over 100% revenue growth achieved in full-year 2024 compared to 2023,” the company said in a statement.
After adding digital banking to its portfolio of services, Maya said its net revenues have surged over fivefold, culminating in achieving profitability in December 2024.
“Maya’s exceptional first-quarter performance in 2025 was primarily driven by strong lending activity and its sustained leadership in both deposits and payments. Loan disbursements reached nearly P28 billion in this single quarter, bringing the cumulative disbursements to an impressive P120 billion. Notably, Maya’s loan-to-deposit ratio improved to 51.1%, indicating robust credit demand and effective capital deployment,” it stated.
Furthermore, Maya said it solidified its position as the country’s top digital bank by deposit balance, concluding the quarter with P43.6 billion in total deposits — approximately double that of its closest competitor.
“This significant achievement underscores the strong trust Maya has cultivated among its growing customer base and its capacity to effectively support accelerated credit expansion,” it said.
The company also reported a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 3.8%, significantly lower than the digital banking industry average. This, it said, highlights the effectiveness of its risk management systems amidst rapid portfolio growth.
“Maya is also strategically accelerating the growth of its merchant business through a seamlessly integrated payment and banking platform tailored for large enterprises and small and micro businesses alike,” it said.
In 2024, Maya said it processed over P1 trillion in payments for merchants, establishing its market leadership in digital transactions. Visa has previously recognized Maya as the top acquirer for merchant transaction volume.
“We are proud to deliver strong growth across all our products, continued scaling of our integrated ecosystem, and achieving net income profitability in Q1 2025,” stated Shailesh Baidwan, Maya Group president and Maya Bank co-founder.
“This reflects the strength of our model, anchored on innovation, disciplined execution, and a clear mission to expand access to digital financial services for millions of Filipinos.”
Building on its strong first-quarter performance, Maya said it is well-positioned for growth, which includes expanding its credit portfolio, enhancing its merchant offerings, and growing its consumer base platform with products like credit cards.
Despite turning in profit, Maya still has a long way catching up with its main rival GCash, which has become a multiple-times digital unicorn with $5-billion valuation.
