PearlPay

What PearlPay does

PearlPay is a Philippine fintech company that provides cloud-based, end-to-end digital banking infrastructure to rural banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), and cooperatives in the Philippines. The company is built around a stated thesis that approximately 77.4% of Filipinos remain unbanked and 94% of Philippine rural banks lack access to electronic money — a gap PearlPay addresses by digitizing the operational backbone of community-based financial institutions rather than competing as a consumer-facing neobank. Its customer base spans rural banks, cooperatives, MFIs, large commercial banks (e.g., RCBC), and banking associations (e.g., APRUB), with end-user beneficiaries including farmers, fisherfolk, MSMEs, and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The core product is a Core Banking Solution (CBS) delivered as SaaS and hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). CBS powers an ecosystem of modular solutions including Mobile Banking Suite (MBS), Agent Banking Solution (ABS), Loan Management Solution (LMS), Payment Gateway (supporting PESONet, InstaPay, and QR Ph), SMS Management Solution, and White-Label eWallet. This architecture is designed to operate in low-connectivity environments and allows financial institutions to procure a unified digital stack rather than assembling multiple fragmented vendors — a critical fit for resource-constrained rural banks. The company has no mobile consumer app of its own, distributes purely B2B, and operates from a headquarters in Bacoor, Cavite and a corporate office in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

PearlPay monetizes through three primary streams: (1) recurring SaaS subscriptions on the Core Banking Solution, (2) transaction fees on payments processed through its Payment Gateway and Agent Banking Solution, and (3) licensing/setup fees for White-Label eWallet deployments. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and appears to be negotiated on a per-institution basis. The go-to-motion combines direct enterprise sales (driven by 'Schedule A Demo' / 'Contact Us' CTAs) with channel partnerships through banking associations (APRUB, 16 member banks) and large-bank co-marketing alliances (RCBC for QR Ph). The company has secured early validation through the Visa Everywhere Initiative Global Finals (3rd place, 2021) and is led by co-founders Spark Perreras (CEO), Nap Catilo (CISO), Jerwin Operio (CMO), and Pio Ryan Lumongsod (CTO/COO).

Name

PearlPay

Legal name

PearlPay Inc.

Website

https://pearlpay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PearlPay is a Philippine fintech that provides cloud-based, end-to-end digital banking infrastructure — including core banking, mobile, agent, payments, and white-label eWallet solutions — to rural banks, MFIs, and cooperatives serving unbanked Filipinos.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Core Banking Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts) (FSAGAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

SME Cash Management & Payments (Merchant, ACH/Wires, Payroll) (FSABABAD), Bank Connectivity & Channels (Host-to-host, SWIFT, APIs, EB portals) (FSABAIAF)

Keywords

• Core banking software
• Digital banking platform
• Rural bank solutions
• Mobile banking suite
• Payment gateway services

Headquarters

HQ city

Manila

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription - Core Banking Solution: PearlPay's Core Banking Solution is delivered as a SaaS (Software as a Service) product hosted on AWS, indicating a recurring subscription revenue model where financial institutions pay to access and use the cloud-based banking platform on an ongoing basis.
2. Payment Gateway and Transaction Fees: Financial institutions using PearlPay's ecosystem connect to payment gateways enabling PESONet, InstaPay, and QR Ph transactions, likely generating transaction-based revenue per payment processed.
3. White-Label eWallet Licensing: PearlPay offers white-label eWallet solutions to financial institutions, generating licensing or setup fees for customized branded mobile wallet deployments.
4. Agent Banking Solution: Provides infrastructure for financial institutions to manage a network of banking agents in underserved areas, potentially generating revenue through transaction fees processed through the agent network.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PearlPay provides cloud-based, end-to-end digital banking software to Philippine rural banks, microfinance institutions, and cooperatives. Its Core Banking Solution (CBS), delivered as SaaS on AWS, is the foundation of a modular suite including Mobile Banking, Agent Banking, Loan Management, Payment Gateway, SMS Management, and White-Label eWallet solutions. The platform enables financial institutions to digitize operations, connect to PESONet, InstaPay, and QR Ph payment networks, and reach unbanked and underbanked Filipinos.

Product overview

PearlPay offers an end-to-end digital banking ecosystem for rural banks and financial institutions in the Philippines. The Core Banking Solution (CBS) serves as the primary platform, delivered as SaaS on AWS, providing the foundational digital infrastructure for rural bank transformation. This core platform powers an interconnected suite of modular solutions including the Mobile Banking Suite (MBS) for mobile customer access, Agent Banking Solution (ABS) for extending services to communities via agent networks, Loan Management Solution (LMS) for streamlining credit operations, SMS Management Solution for customer communications, Payment Gateway for connecting to payment networks and enabling QR Ph transactions, and White-Label eWallet for branded digital wallet offerings. Together, these solutions enable financial institutions to serve unbanked and underserved Filipinos through accessible digital financial services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Core Banking Solution (CBS) A cloud-based core banking system delivered as SaaS and hosted on AWS, providing the foundational digital infrastructure for rural banks and financial institutions to improve processes and achieve digital transformation goals. It powers an entire ecosystem of integrated solutions.
• Mobile Banking Suite (MBS) Mobile banking solution that enables accessible financial services at customers' fingertips, allowing financial institutions to reach underserved and unbanked Filipinos via mobile devices.
• Agent Banking Solution (ABS) Solution enabling financial institutions to bring banking services closer to rural and remote communities through a network of agents, addressing the lack of physical bank branches in far-flung areas.
• Loan Management Solution (LMS) Streamlines loan operations for better customer experience, helping financial institutions manage lending processes for farmers, MSMEs, and other borrowers.
• Payment Gateway Connects financial institutions to payment networks enabling digital payments, bill payments, and PESONet/InstaPay/QR Ph transactions for rural banks.
• SMS Management Solution Enables financial institutions to reach customers faster and easier through SMS notifications and communications.
• White-Label eWallet White-label digital wallet solution that financial institutions can offer to their customers, enabling mobile wallets without building from scratch.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of Philippine rural banks do not have access to electronic money, creating a massive addressable market for PearlPay's solutions.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• RCBC (Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2025RCBC and PearlPay partnered to promote QR Ph digital payments in the Philippines, targeting local businesses, government units, and small enterprises. The collaboration aims to increase digital payment adoption, reduce transaction costs, and help small businesses access credit and growth opportunities through QR Ph — the Philippines' national QR code payment standard.
• Association of Pangasinan Rural Banks (APRUB)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 January 2020PearlPay signed a strategic partnership with APRUB during the 62nd Charter Anniversary Symposium of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines. The agreement grants 16 member banks of APRUB access to PearlPay's end-to-end cloud-based banking solutions — Core Banking Solutions, Agent Banking Solutions, and white-label eWallet solutions — as part of APRUB's push to enable financial institutions to be more commercially competitive through digital transformation.
• BHF Rural Bank, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 August 2019PearlPay signed a 12-month pilot program agreement with BHF Rural Bank, Inc., a bank based in Dagupan City operating seven branches. This was the first time a Philippine rural bank utilized cloud-based technologies including Core Banking Solutions, Agent Banking Solutions, and white-label eWallet solutions. BHF Rural Bank President Armando Bonifacio stated that PearlPay helped solve the challenge of rural banks being unable to participate in the e-money landscape due to high costs.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationPearlPay's Core Banking Solution and entire ecosystem of solutions is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure. AWS provides the scalable, reliable cloud foundation that enables PearlPay to deliver SaaS-based banking solutions to rural banks across the Philippines.
• QBO Innovation HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQBO Innovation Hub is listed as a PearlPay partner on the company's website, suggesting collaboration in innovation and startup ecosystem development in the Philippines.
• Plug and PlayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlug and Play is listed as a PearlPay partner on the company's website. Plug and Play is a global innovation platform that runs accelerator programs and connects startups with enterprise partners, indicating PearlPay's involvement in fintech acceleration and corporate innovation programs.
• StartUp VillageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartUp Village is listed as a PearlPay partner on the company's website. StartUp Village is a startup ecosystem enabler in the Philippines, suggesting collaboration in startup development and regional innovation initiatives.
• HKSTP (Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPearlPay participated in HKSTP's first-ever Virtual Elevator Pitch Competition 2020, indicating collaboration with Hong Kong's technology park ecosystem for startup exposure and potential cross-border expansion opportunities.
• Damayang Sambayanihan: Hatid-Ayuda sa KababayanminorOthersPearlPay is aligned with a group of rural banks, cooperatives, microfinance institutions, NGOs, and payment collection companies that signed a memorandum of understanding called 'Damayang Sambayanihan: Hatid-Ayuda sa Kababayan' to distribute government subsidies and cash aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. While not a direct bilateral partnership, PearlPay's technology enables participating financial institutions to facilitate faster government aid distribution.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• UnionBank of the Philippines: Leading Philippine digital transformation bank with its own in-house core and fintech investments; comparable as a Philippine banking technology benchmark rather than a direct software buyer.

Direct peers

• Oradian: Cloud-based core banking platform built for microfinance institutions and community banks in emerging markets; the most direct functional analog to PearlPay's SaaS for MFIs and rural banks.
• Mambu: SaaS core banking platform used by neobanks and challenger banks globally; competes for the same cloud-native core banking workloads that PearlPay sells to Philippine rural banks.
• Thought Machine: Cloud-native core banking engine (Vault) sold to large banks and challengers; targets the same SaaS core-banking procurement decisions that PearlPay addresses for community banks.

Broad incumbents

• Temenos: Established global core banking vendor serving hundreds of banks; competes in the same core-banking category but with a much broader portfolio and heavier, on-prem-leaning deployments than PearlPay.
• Finastra: Large incumbent financial software vendor offering core banking and digital channels; overlaps with PearlPay's end-to-end banking stack at a much larger institutional scale.

Emerging players

• Backbase: Digital banking platform focused on customer-facing channels (mobile/web) that often sits on top of a core; comparable to PearlPay's Mobile Banking Suite and white-label eWallet layer.
• Mifos Initiative: Open-source microfinance and financial inclusion platform; already a listed PearlPay partner and a close conceptual peer in serving MFIs and community-based institutions.
• Maya (PayMaya): Philippine neobank and payments platform competing for the same unbanked Filipino end-user base PearlPay's bank partners serve; partial overlap via the QR Ph and eWallet ecosystem.
• GCash (Mynt / Globe Fintech Innovations): Dominant Philippine e-wallet and digital financial services platform; adjacent competitor for end-customer digital wallet adoption that PearlPay enables through partner banks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pearl_pay

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PearlPay