Expanded 1-year partnership extends beyond lending into cash management and FX, featuring an innovative over-collateralized consumer loan security registered via the Philippines’ Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR).
Billease, one of the Philippines’ leading consumer finance and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms, has doubled its credit facility with Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) to ₱1 billion, just one year after the two institutions established their lending relationship with an initial ₱500 million facility.
The expanded partnership now goes beyond term lending, extending into corporate cash management, savings (CASA), and foreign exchange (FX) services. The development signals a deepening, multi-product relationship between a top-tier Philippine universal bank and a profitable, fast-growing local fintech leader.
A Blueprint for Fintech Asset Securitization in the Philippines
The expanded facility is notable for its sophisticated security structure. It is among the first in the Philippines to utilize the Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR)—the centralized movable-asset registry launched by the Land Registration Authority under the Personal Property Security Act—to establish a registered and perfected security interest over Billease’s consumer loan receivables.
Through the structure, RCBC gains an enforceable, first-ranking claim over a granular pool of high-quality assets. The arrangement provides a potential template for how Philippine commercial banks can lend against fintech receivables with greater institutional confidence.
The comprehensive security package is designed to provide the lender with robust and transparent downside protection throughout the life of the facility. It includes:
- Registered and perfected security interests through the PPSR
- Over-collateralized loan-to-value structures
- Dynamic and periodic refreshing of the collateral asset pool
- A clearly defined payment waterfall mechanism
“Doubling our facility with RCBC within a year and broadening it well beyond lending into cash management and FX reflects the kind of confidence that only comes from a track record both sides can underwrite,” said Garret Go, CFO of Billease. “The strongest funding relationships are built on transparency and performance, not promises, and RCBC has been an excellent partner in structuring something new for this market.”
Sustained Profitability and a Strong Balance Sheet
The expanded facility comes on the heels of a landmark fiscal year for Billease. On an audited consolidated basis, the fintech grew its FY2025 revenue by more than 80% to ₱8.7 billion and posted a net profit of ₱750 million.
The results mark Billease’s third consecutive year of profitability, a notable milestone in the global BNPL sector, where many companies continue to face pressure on their bottom lines.
Key financial highlights for the period include:
- Loan Portfolio: Grew by more than 75% to approximately ₱11.3 billion.
- Total Assets: Reached ₱13.3 billion.
- User Acquisition: Onboarded more than 150,000 new customers every month.
- Capital Health: As of December 31, 2025, Billease held approximately ₱5.6 billion in total equity against ₱6.7 billion in total borrowings. Its conservative debt-to-equity ratio of roughly 1x provides significant headroom for additional, well-secured debt.
Founder-Led Continuity Paired with Institutional Governance
Billease continues to operate as a founder-led company, with co-founders Georg Steiger, Huyen Nguyen, and Ritche Weekun remaining actively involved in directing operations while retaining a majority stake in the business.
The company’s governance framework was further strengthened following its 2024 Series C round, a ₱4.3 billion investment led by TPG’s The Rise Fund, with participation from existing investor Burda Principal Investments.
Billease’s Board of Directors is chaired by Jose Isidro “Lito” Camacho, former Secretary of Finance of the Philippines. In 2025, the board also welcomed Atul Malik, a TPG senior advisor and veteran banker whose three decades in Asian financial services include nearly 20 years at Citibank, regional leadership at Deutsche Bank, and a chief executive role at a leading Vietnamese bank.
“We don’t view 2025 as a peak, we view it as evidence that the platform works, and that there is significant underlying demand for affordable, well-structured credit in this country,” added Georg Steiger, CEO and Co-Founder of Billease.
“The business scales without compromising on underwriting standards. Facilities like this one let us keep funding that growth locally, on improving terms, and the registry-backed, over-collateralized structure we built with RCBC is one we believe more Philippine banks can use.”
The expanded RCBC facility advances Billease’s strategy of increasingly funding its growth through local banking partners, helping reduce its historical reliance on offshore debt while optimizing its overall cost of capital.
The move also complements Billease’s strategic entry into regulated banking following its recent acquisition of a rural bank. The acquisition is expected to expand the platform’s deposit-taking capabilities and product suite, further broadening its presence within the Philippine financial services ecosystem.
“This expanded partnership reflects RCBC’s confidence in Billease’s performance and in the quality of its underwriting,” said Elizabeth Coronel, Institutional Banking Group Head of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.
“By anchoring the facility in a registered, over-collateralized security through the Personal Property Security Registry, we have built a transparent, well-protected structure that we believe can serve as a model for how Philippine banks support responsible, fast-growing fintech lenders.”
