Philippine "Revolut" Maya Eyes Up to $1 Billion US Listing

The all-in-one
financial app Maya joins a growing list of Southeast Asian fintechs looking
past their home markets for capital. The timing and size of the offering could
still change as the company gauges market conditions, according to Bloomberg.

The fintech
operates a full-service digital banking platform where users can buy stocks and
cryptocurrencies, earn interest on savings, send payments, and manage debit and
credit cards.

According
to the most recent annual report, Maya’s digital bank served 5.4 million
customers and disbursed 68 billion pesos ($1.2 billion) in loans during 2024.

Rough Waters for New
Listings

Maya’s IPO
plans come at a difficult moment for companies trying to go public. Several
firms have pulled or
downsized their US listings in recent weeks after investors pushed back on valuations.

Wall Street
broker Clear Street postponed its IPO in mid-February after slashing its
fundraising target by 65 percent, citing market conditions. Blackstone-backed
Liftoff Mobile similarly delayed its New York listing following a selloff in
software stocks.

Brazilian
fintech Agibank managed to complete its US debut this month, but only after
cutting both its deal size and price range by more than half. The stock
promptly fell 15 percent from its offer price.

Goldman
Sachs analysts expect the number of IPOs to double to 120 this year, but warned
that volatility and valuation scrutiny remain significant headwinds.

Companies
with exposure to fintech and crypto face additional skepticism. even those
that made it to market have struggled, with trading platform eToro down roughly 60
percent since its Wall Street debut nearly a year ago.

Regional Rivals Taking
Different Routes

Maya isn’t
the only Philippine fintech weighing its options. GCash, its main competitor in
the digital payments space, postponed a planned Manila IPO to the second half
of 2026. The country’s securities regulator has proposed relaxing free-float
requirements to attract larger companies to the local exchange, which has
underperformed regional benchmarks.

The MSCI
Philippines Index gained just over 12 percent in the past year, trailing the
broader MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index. That performance gap has pushed some
Filipino companies to consider overseas listings.

Fast food
chain Jollibee Foods said it plans to list its international business in the
United States, while other Southeast Asian firms are eyeing Hong Kong for share
sales.

From Payments to
Full-Service Banking

Maya
started as PayMaya, a mobile wallet for QR code payments and money transfers.
The company has since built out a regulated digital bank that offers savings
accounts with interest rates reaching 15 percent annually, instant loans of up
to 250,000 pesos for consumers and 2 million pesos for small businesses, and
investment products including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum
alongside mutual funds.

The company is backed by Philippine telecom giant PLDT
and a roster of international investors including KKR, Tencent, and the World
Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

The
platform uses transaction data and AI-driven credit scoring to approve loans
without traditional collateral requirements, a model that has resonated in a
country where formal banking penetration remains low.

About 70
percent of Maya’s customers live outside Metro Manila, where the company has
seen particularly strong growth in lending and savings activity.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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