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Cebuana Lhuillier

“Can a 3,500-branch pawnshop and micro-financial services network become the embedded finance distribution layer for underbanked Filipinos at home and abroad?”

Founded1988
HQMakati, Philippines
IndustryFintech / SMB banking
The story

Founded in 1988 as a pawnshop chain, Cebuana Lhuillier expanded into remittance, microinsurance, and rural banking over three decades, leveraging its 3,500+ branch network to reach underbanked Filipinos. Beginning around 2019–2022, it accelerated a digital pivot by launching an EMI license (CLSC), a dedicated finance corporation (CLFC), and a cross-border remittance app (Quikz) powered by Nium. The embedded finance strategy centers on distributing third-party financial products — credit (Maya, Packworks), remittance (Nium/Ripple), and digital wallets — through its unrivaled physical footprint.

Last 12 months
2024-02
2024
Product timeline
1988
PJ Lhuillier Group founded; Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshop brand established, growing into one of the Philippines' largest pawnshop networks.· pivot
1998
Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank (CLRB) established as the banking arm of PJ Lhuillier, Inc., regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.· banking
2021
Cebuana Lhuillier Finance Corporation (CLFC) incorporated to offer microloans, OFW loans, motorcycle loans, and salary advance solutions.· lending
2022
Cebuana Lhuillier partners with Nium to launch Quikz, a mobile remittance app for Filipinos in Singapore powered by Nium's remittance-as-a-service solution.· banking
2024
Cebuana Lhuillier and Packworks launch 'Sari Fund', an inventory financing product for sari-sari store owners, expanding into MSME embedded lending.· lending
2024
Cebuana Lhuillier launches Easy Loan in partnership with Maya, offering consumers up to ₱30,000 credit accessible via Maya app registered at Cebuana branches.· lending
Regulated entities
3
regulatory licences held by Cebuana Lhuillier
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
3 layers disclosed in Cebuana Lhuillier’s embedded-finance stack
Banking / BaaS
Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank (in-house)
Lending
in the full report
FX & payouts
in the full report
Accounting gap: significant
7 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.