Digital lending app Tala is expanding its services with an e-wallet in partnership with digital bank UnionDigital. The digital wallet will enable consumers to pay or send money with zero transaction fees.

“This partnership will allow us to reach the underserved sectors including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the agricultural sector, and Filipinos overseas,” said Henry Aguda, president and CEO of UnionDigital Bank, a subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines.

Tala customers can now receive credit directly into their Tala Wallet. Currently, the lending app has two million customers in the Philippines.

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According to data from Tala, the wallet which is in its beta phase, grew 18 times with nearly P 2 billion worth of loans already disbursed to the Tala Wallet.

Sectors

“The main difference between Tala Wallet and other digital wallet services is that we are building with Tala’s robust and developed micro-credit services in mind,” said Nick Norcross, SVP for Global Product of Tala. “This gives it a well-built foundation to facilitate its purpose of sending money to relatives, paying bills, and supporting homegrown MSMEs.”

The partnership will also help the two companies expand their own customer base and reach more markets in the country.

“They service a lower income segment than we do,” Aguda said. “We service middle to higher income segment. There’s potentially a win-win there that we can collaborate,”  said Mike Singh, chief commercial and revenue officer, UnionDigital Bank.

Tala Wallet has no maintaining balance required although money kept in the e-wallet doesn’t earn any interest compared to banks. Consumers can keep up to P100,000 in the digital wallet.

Tala Wallet works with other digital wallets including Coins.ph, GCash, GrabPay, and Maya as well as some banking apps.

Tala has 7 million customers across the Philippines, Kenya, India, and Mexico.