The SEC found Digido in violation of the Financing Company Act after it allegedly opened four unlicensed branches across Cavite.
The branches, located in Bacoor, Dasmariñas, General Trias, and Kawit, were set up between July and September 2021 in small exhibit booths that advertised fast loans on social media sites, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in its revocation order.
Digido is part of the Fintech Alliance, whose members include some of the country’s largest financial technology and payments providers. It is led by president Aleksei Kosenko.
Facebook posts advertised fast loans
When asked to explain the on-site loan facilities in September 2021, Digido argued the booths were only for marketing and too small to count as branches. The SEC rejected this argument.
“The [Corporate Governance and Finance Department] likewise found the screen captures of the Respondent’s Facebook posts offering public loans up to PhP 10,000 in 10 minutes, contrary to its position that the exhibit booths were merely set up as a marketing strategy to introduce Digido to the public,” the SEC alleged.
The SEC added its Financing and Lending Companies Department (FinLenD) “views that the respondent performs a complete loan transaction in said locations.”
No licenses to operate on-site loans
It also stated that under the Financing Company Act of 1998, any location offering financing services requires a valid Certificate of Authority (CA), regardless of size or setup.
The SEC further said that Digido “admitted to establishing four exhibit booths in several areas of Cavite without obtaining any prior CA from the Commission.”
What Digido says
In a statement to InsiderPH, Digido Finance Corp. denied operating unlicensed branches, adding that it filed an appeal to reverse the revocation order.
“Digido Finance Corp. categorically denies having opened or operated four branches without obtaining the necessary certificate of authority from the Securities and Exchange Commission,” the company said.
“The order from the SEC’s Financing and Lending Companies Department (FinLenD) dated May 9, 2025, following careful review, anchored its decision on Digido’s temporary setup of four (4) exhibit booths in 2021. However, the Company was able to factually establish to the Commission that exhibit booths were only set up for marketing purposes — not a form of any permanent office or place of business,” it added.
“While we respect and share FinLenD’s inherent thrust to promptly regulate financing and lending companies in the Philippines, the Company respectfully views this Order as a deviation from earlier established facts,” it added.
What is Digido
Digido is a multi-awarded financing company that claims, on its website, to process 100,000 loan applications every month with a 90 percent approval rate, offering a 9 percent interest rate on the first seven days of a loan.
To help boost its profile, the firm regularly shared attention-grabbing statements.
Last May 6, it issued a statement with the headline “Filipinos spent 1.54 billion seconds using digital lending apps in 2024,” which was carried by several media outlets.
Digido was also in talks to enter into strategic partnerships with major industry players, including a February 2025 agreement to integrate its lending services into PalawanPay, the digital wallet of the Palawan Group of Companies.
What happens next?
This is where it gets tricky.
Borrowers must still repay their existing loans, but Digido’s ability to collect could be affected by its revoked legal status and its pending appeal to reverse the SEC’s decision.
If the appeal is denied, the company may need to wind down operations or explore other legal avenues.
