Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. will acquire an 8% stake in Globe Telecom Inc.’s GCash for $393 million, in a deal that would value the top Philippine fintech company at $5 billion.

Japan’s largest lender has been exploring opportunities to invest in digital startups in Asia’s emerging markets, where it sees a vast pool of potential customers untapped by traditional banks. MUFG said in a statement that it “aims to further capture the Asia-Pacific region’s growth” with the latest acquisition.

Bloomberg reports that the deal comes at a time when the Philippines is boosting digital payments which grew to more than half of its retail transactions last year. The popularity of GCash - which has around 94 million users in a nation with a population of over 112 million - soared during the pandemic as consumers opted for cashless transactions.

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