Manila — November 10, 2026. Checking a balance or paying a bill no longer has to eat into a mobile data allowance for millions of Filipinos. The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has teamed up with Globe Telecom and Touch Mobile (TM) so that customers on either network can open the BPI app without being charged for data.

BPI announced the arrangement on Monday, November 9, through an advisory to clients. According to a report by Unbox.ph, which cites YugaTech's earlier coverage, the free access has been live since November 5.

Because BPI, Globe and TM all belong to the Ayala Group, the deal is an in-house tie-up that links the conglomerate's banking and telecom arms.

What customers can do without spending data

BPI clients who are also Globe or TM subscribers can use the app for everyday banking tasks, including:

  • Checking account balances
  • Transferring funds
  • Scanning QR codes
  • Paying bills

The bank said the same data-free treatment will eventually extend to its other digital platforms: VYBE, BizLink, BizKo and the BanKo mobile app. No timeline was given. One tech outlet noted that BPI has not specified exactly which app features are covered, so the list above reflects the examples in the bank's advisory.

The financial inclusion angle

BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro "TG" Limcaoco framed the move around access. He pointed to Globe's network of roughly 67 million subscribers and said the partnership opens new channels for financial inclusion through the bank's digital platforms.

The reach is significant on both sides. BPI said more than 10 million clients were enrolled in its app as of September 2026, according to Unbox.ph. For users who often run out of load or ration data, removing the data cost removes one of the practical barriers to doing transactions on a phone instead of at a branch or ATM.

A perk for premium clients, too

The partnership goes beyond data. Per the reports, BPI Gold and BPI Preferred clients can use their privilege cards to enter Globe Platinum lounges. In the other direction, Globe Platinum subscribers can use BPI Preferred Lanes at branches and get access to exclusive foreign exchange rates, by showing their Globe Platinum signal on their device to the branch concierge.

Not a first for Globe or BPI

Zero-rated access is a familiar play in Philippine telecoms. Globe has previously made the GCash app available without data charges and offered free access to the Commission on Higher Education's learning app in 2020. BPI itself ran similar free-access promos with Globe and Smart for its mobile app in earlier years. What sets this version apart is its scale and its place in the Ayala ecosystem, where bank and telco can bundle benefits across both customer bases.

Why it matters for the startup ecosystem

For Philippine fintech builders, the move shows where the competition for everyday users is heading. Incumbent banks are using their telco ties to make their apps cheaper to use, which raises the bar for wallet and neobank startups that have grown on convenience and low friction. It also reinforces a pattern: distribution partnerships, not just product features, decide who reaches the unbanked and underbanked.

Sources