Author: Fintech News Philippines

Pac Technologies, co-founded by boxing world champion Senator Manny Pacquiao, aims to launch PacPay, a digital payment platform this year. The company will be collaborating with Remsea, a fintech remittance firm licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the initiative. The platform is meant for global influencers, brands and fans, providing users with what is said to be faster and safer cross-border prepaid solutions to make payments conveniently. Via PacPay’s rewards programme, users can connect with their favourite influencers or brands, participate in exclusive private events and enjoy what it claims to be ‘money-cannot-buy’ privileges and experiences. “My fans…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has partnered with PLDT, a major telco player from the Philippines, to improve the welfare of the country’s educators by offering them an alternative income source during the COVID-19 pandemic. RCBC, through its DiskarTech app, will be offering this alternative digital livelihood option as a part of PLDT – Smart Foundation’s (PSF) Gabay Guro programme. The DiskarTech app will enable teachers to earn additional income by offering instant digital financial services in their neighborhoods by performing financial transactions on behalf of customers. The partnership is mutually beneficial as PSF will in turn promote the use of…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is planning to issue later this month a new circular on the establishment of digital banks, BSP deputy governor for banking supervision and examination Chuchi Fonacier told the Inquirer on September 2. For his part, José María Clemente “Joey” Salceda, the representative of Albay’s 2nd District in the Philippine House of Representatives, has been working on the legislation of House Bill No. 5913 or the Virtual Banking Act, which he said he hoped will pass before the end of the year, Salceda told the news outlet. In his bill, Salceda is suggesting changes to…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 1 September 2020. The MOU was formed to facilitate consultation, cooperation and the exchange of information between the two institutions. It aims to provide a framework for dialogue and cooperation between OJK and BSP to discuss initiatives and promote the development of sound financial regulatory mechanisms in both jurisdictions. The document was signed by Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno, Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Dr. Wimboh Santoso, Chairman of Otoritas Jasa Keuangan. Following the MOU signing, OJK and BSP held…

The Philippines’ fintech ecosystem is brimming with innovation with a vibrant mix of entrepreneurs attempting to fill in the gap within the financial system. Despite the strides that the country has made in this space, the Philippines’ narrative has often been overlooked by international media when examining financial innovations within South East Asia. The Fintech News Network prides itself in delivering timely and highly relevant stories about local champions, since 2014. Through sites like Fintech News Singapore, Fintech News Hong Kong and Fintech News Malaysia, we have helped local entrepreneurs to get their voices heard and important stories told. We…

During the recent virtual general membership meeting of the Fintech Alliance.ph, Alibaba Cloud was inducted as its newest member. Alibaba Cloud is the data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group with more than 3 million customers worldwide. Alibaba Cloud, founded in 2009, is one of the global leaders in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, providing services to thousands of enterprises, developers, and governments organizations in more than 200 countries and regions. Cloud provides reliable and secure cloud computing and data processing capabilities as a part of its online solution. “We welcome Alibaba Cloud to the roster of digital players shaping a…

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno will lead the virtual launch of the Digital Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA), said the regulator in a media statement issued earlier today. PERA is a voluntary retirement account that can be a supplementary source of retirement benefits in addition to state-sponsored retirement programs implemented by the Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System. PERA is structured to encourage Filipinos to invest in long-term retirement saving products while enjoying certain tax incentives. Its digitalization is seen to enable PERA-accredited banks and financial institutions to provide convenient and affordable retirement…

Changing customer expectations, the rise of big techs, and COVID-19 are accelerating banks’ digital transformation, forcing them to upgrade their infrastructure to meet the requirements of the data-intensive era, experts said. At the Huawei APAC FSI Data Storage Summit virtual event, experts from Huawei and China Construction Bank Asia discussed the need for the financial services industry to respond rapidly to the long-lasting market changes that have been brought in by COVID-19. These not only include rising demand for contactless and remote services, but also includes changing working conditions. During a panel discussion on the future of banking, Johnny Chung, general manager…

With over 2 million mobile app downloads in two months, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has pushed for digital adoption, recording more than 1.43 million new accounts onboarded digitally during the lockdown. An estimated 610,000 DiskarTech basic deposit account holders went through the three-minute electronic know-your-customer (KYC) verification from over 2 million who downloaded the mobile app. About 822,720 DiskarTech Lite restricted transactional accounts received emergency cash grants from the government’s social amelioration program. The funds are disbursed on-site through the help of RCBC-DiskarTech’s payout partners composed of rural banks, payment centers, pawnshops, and sari-sari stores (the local term for…

Igloo, Singapore-headquartered insurtech firm, announced partnerships with Union Bank of the Philippines and Indonesia’s Akulaku to offer micro-insurance policies. Akulaku is one of Indonesia’s most well-funded fintech startups who is best known for their “buy now, pay later” service. Igloo will be offering a whole suite of personal accident (PA) products on UnionBank’s API Marketplace and Akulaku’s platforms. The products were designed for the lower-income households and is said to be “easy to purchase, simple to understand, and most importantly, highly affordable with 3, 6, 9, and 12 month plans”. Igloo, a full-stack insurtech firm, employs big data, dynamic risk…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has partnered to create DiskarTech’s NegosyanTech programme to digitalise community-based microenterprises in every barangay nationwide through partnership and ecosystem building. More than 1.3 million sari-sari stores (a Tagalog word that locals use for convenience stores) and market vendors, as well as an estimated 7 million informal and unregistered home-based microbusinesses stand to benefit from this programme. With the use of DiskarTech, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will now be able to accept digital payments through their own unique QR codes. These digital payments will be deposited…

DiskarTech, powered by Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), has reached one million downloads just 38 days from its market launch. It was also ranked second overall amongst mobile apps in the country by Google Play Store and Apple Store and has now since moved to first place. DiskarTech said it recorded 1.3 downloads per second last week when it reached 100,000 daily downloads in late July. Its monthly active user (MAU) rate was recorded at over 70%, which is apparently higher than the industry average of 10% to 20%. MAU is among the key performance indicators that measures customers doing…

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ central bank, has created a committee to look at the feasibility and policy implications of issuing its own digital currency, governor Benjamin E. Diokno said on July 29. “We have to first look into the findings of the group before making any decisions,” Diokno said, quoted by the Manila Bulletin. “I expect the technical working group to submit their report next month,” he added. Although he doesn’t believe cryptocurrencies will ever replace banknotes or coins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), on the other hand, could very well become the next form of fiat…

Huawei announced that it will be hosting its APAC Financial Industry Storage Summit 2020 on the 13th August 2020. The high-level summit is targeted at keeping the C-level from banks informed on the latest trends, developments and challenges in data storage. This is becoming increasingly crucial as the world rapidly becomes more digital, thanks largely to ubiquitous connectivity and an entire generation of people who are digital natives. There are no signs of the digital revolution slowing down as many of the markets in Asia-Pacific including Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines have all moved towards introducing regulations to facilitate the…

DiskarTech, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) virtual bank has claimed the top spot among free finance apps in Google Play for Android users in the first month since its launch. As for users of iOS devices, DiskarTech ranks second among free finance apps on the App Store, overtaking those that have been available for years in the market. “In a crowded field of e-wallets, online banking, and similar apps, Filipinos have warmly welcomed the entry of DiskarTech which stands out as the most inclusive of all. I think what makes this first Taglish inclusion super app a hit is due…

The Philippine Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), together with Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) and Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), launches an app for the distribution of retail treasury bonds enabled by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The app, called Bonds.PH, claims to make bond investing easy. It is blockchain-enabled with transactions recorded on a DLT-based registry in addition to the existing system. Leveraging DLT enables immutable and tamper-proof record-keeping. As such, DLT reduces manual verification and simplifies reconciliation bringing down processing time and costs. Filipinos, including the unbanked and overseas workers, can invest in retail treasury bonds by downloading…

Barely three weeks after its launch, more unbanked and underserved Filipinos are now downloading the country’s first and only Taglish inclusion super mobile app, DiskarTech. Taglish refers to the Philippine language Tagalog infused with American English terms that has been widely used by Filipinos locally and abroad. New registrants to this digital savings account have already breached 100,000 users as it invites over 50 million adult Filipinos who still do not have bank account to join the formal financial system. A Taglish interface for easier understanding of processes and financial concepts by new-to-bank clients and non-requirement of opening deposit amount…

CIMB Bank Philippines is foreseeing a 500% increase in their deposit balances by end-year, following a reported 160% surge of average cash-in per customer in the second quarter of 2020. Their momentum for customer acquisition stood strong throughout April to June, with the significant increase in average deposits allowing them to surpass its 2020 deposit target. The spike coincides with the first three months of the country’s community quarantine due to the pandemic, wherein the digital bank also saw a growth in savings account openings and personal loan applications. With this upward trajectory, CIMB expects to surpass their initial target…

GrabPay announced today the introduction of instant fund transfers in the Philippines within its e-wallet. This new feature is made possible thanks InstaPay, an initiative from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to enable payment interoperability. The introduction of this feature enables its users to instantly and conveniently transfer funds from BSP-supervised banks and e-wallets to their GrabPay account, connecting more digital channels and eliminating the need to physically go to payment centers. With the rising need for cashless solutions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, GrabPay said this is part of its continued efforts to double down on providing cashless convenience…

The Philippines Social Security System (SSS) has started paying funeral benefit claims through the banks and other alternative payment channels as the pension fund shifts its transactions online. Effective 22nd June 2020, funeral benefits will no longer be released through cheques in an effort to go digital which will limit walk-in transactions for the safety of the members and SSS employees as well. All claims prior will still be paid through cheques SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said the cash benefit will be granted to anyone who pays for the funeral expenses of a deceased member. The release…