Billease, which began as a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform, is expanding into a comprehensive digital-centric banking infrastructure following its acquisition of the Rural Bank of Sta. Maria-Ilocos Sur (RBSM).
The acquisition aims to transform the company from a consumer finance application into a full digital-centric banking application by combining Billease’s technology with a regulated banking license. The transition moves the Billease group beyond a BNPL-only service to providing support for everyday transactions, with plans to soon include savings and deposits.
Billease co-founder and chief executive Georg Steiger announced the appointment of the new RBSM president and chief executive Dennis Valdes. “We are now in the process of completely transforming our core systems to get ready for digital-centric banking, with plans to launch our new suite of banking products next year,” Valdes said.
RBSM is expected to become one of Billease’s lending partners in the first quarter of 2026 and aims to strengthen its online banking presence by the third quarter of next year.
Once online banking is available via the Billease application, RBSM will offer deposit products with high interest rates and enable fund transfers to any bank or wallet account.
