Green GSM Philippines has secured a strategic financing and digital banking partnership with Philippine National Bank, giving the all-electric ride-hailing operator fresh support for fleet expansion, driver payroll and nationwide growth as the Philippines accelerates its shift towards cleaner urban transport.

The partnership centres on P2 billion in credit facilities extended by PNB to finance the acquisition of electric vehicles and support working capital requirements. The bank has also provided Green GSM with a digitally enabled payroll solution through its Corporate Account Portal System, alongside digital onboarding tools designed to serve a widening pool of drivers across multiple depots.

The arrangement, agreed in December 2025 and formally announced as Green GSM prepares its next stage of expansion, brings together two priorities shaping the Philippines transport market: the need for large-scale private capital to fund electric fleets and the push to digitise services that support drivers, operators and passengers.

Green GSM, the Philippine brand of Green and Smart Mobility, entered the market in June 2025 as the country’s first all-electric taxi service. It began operations across 10 of Metro Manila’s 16 cities and districts, deploying VinFast Nerio Green electric vehicles and promoting a model built around app-based booking, street hailing, fixed service standards and professionally trained drivers.

The PNB financing gives the company additional balance-sheet capacity at a time when electric taxi operators across Southeast Asia are trying to move beyond pilot projects into commercially viable urban fleets. For Green GSM, the deal strengthens the operating base needed to acquire vehicles, manage driver accounts and expand service coverage without relying only on incremental deployment.

PNB said the digital payroll component has already helped reduce account onboarding time from as much as nine days to two days, easing a key administrative bottleneck for a driver-heavy business. The use of digital documentation and account management also reduces paper-based processing, aligning the bank’s sustainability messaging with Green GSM’s low-emission transport model.

Le Thi Thu Trang, chief executive officer of Green GSM Philippines, said the collaboration had enabled the company to scale efficiently while staying focused on sustainable transportation. PNB president and chief executive Edwin R. Bautista described banks as critical enablers of the transport sector’s move towards cleaner models, pointing to the role of finance and technology in supporting not only vehicles but the wider operating ecosystem.

The partnership follows a series of expansion moves by Green GSM and its affiliates. In March, Green Xentro launched the first phase of a 2,500-unit battery-electric taxi fleet in Rizal province under a partnership with Green GSM. That rollout built on an October 2025 memorandum of understanding and expanded the original target from 2,000 vehicles, signalling stronger confidence in the operating model.

Green GSM’s wider platform has also been positioned as a partner-led system for transport firms and cooperatives. Agreements announced in May with 75 Philippine transport companies and cooperatives outlined plans to deploy up to 18,497 VinFast electric vehicles for passenger transport operations. If implemented at scale, the plan would make Green GSM one of the most visible players in the country’s electrified public mobility market.

The company’s expansion is closely tied to the regional strategy of GSM, founded by Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong. GSM operates under different brands across Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines, using VinFast vehicles and presenting electric mobility as a bundled service covering cars, software, drivers, safety systems and fleet management.

The Philippines offers both opportunity and constraint. Demand for cleaner transport is rising in major urban centres, but charging access, capital cost, grid readiness and driver transition remain practical hurdles. Electric taxis need dependable charging networks, high vehicle utilisation and strong maintenance systems to compete with petrol and diesel fleets, particularly in congested areas where downtime can quickly affect earnings.

Government policy has created a more supportive backdrop. The Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act established the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry, setting a national framework for commercialisation, charging infrastructure and wider EV adoption. The Department of Energy has continued to recognise eligible EV models and promote rules intended to expand the charging network.

The competitive landscape is also shifting. Traditional taxi operators, ride-hailing platforms, vehicle distributors, charging providers and banks are all seeking roles in the mobility transition. For lenders, fleet electrification creates demand for structured financing, payroll systems, account services and potentially green finance products. For operators, access to credit could determine whether expansion stays confined to selected routes or reaches a national scale.