Philippines’ Security Bank has selected ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time payments and digital payment software solutions, to help strengthen its real-time payment capabilities. ACI Worldwide’s Enterprise Payments Platform solution will provide full payment hub capabilities for low- and high-value payments, including payment processing, domestic scheme gateways and SWIFT on ISO 20022 standards on a single platform. The cloud-native real-time payment platform will enable Security Bank to provide secure services across consumers, merchants and corporate payments with emerging and new payment types. ACI provides the central infrastructure for Indonesia’s real-time payment initiative BI-FAST, Malaysia’s Real-time Retail Payments Platform as well…

Financial services firms across the Asia Pacific are facing an ever-increasing array of data and technology challenges stemming from both the growth in the volume of customer and business data being generated and the proliferation of data siloes across different applications and platforms.  This has led to an urgent need for financial organisations to access, manage, and leverage their data effectively to improve operational efficiency, enhance decision-making, and, ultimately, better serve their customers. In a recent survey by InterSystems, a provider of data management solutions involving 176 leaders in the APAC region, several vital data and technology challenges were identified…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that it will continue to work with banks to lower or waive transaction fees for smaller e-payments. The regulator is looking to make financial digitalisation more inclusive in line with the BSP’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023. The roadmap aims to convert half of retail payments volume into digital form and to onboard 70 percent of Filipino adults onto the formal financial system within this year. “I am sure that the Bangko Sentral and our partners in the banking system will be able to find a cost-sharing system that excludes payments from fees,…

BTI Payments is further strengthening the presence of fast and easy payments in the country, through their latest partnership with Lawson Philippines. Under the tie-up, BTI’s Pay&Go kiosks are now present in Lawson convenience store branches nationwide. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Australia-based Banktech, BTI Payments is certified by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas as an operator of payments systems that develops and deploys payments kiosks and independent ATMs. Pay&Go kiosks enable customers to easily conduct their financial errands in one machine. When transacting through Pay&Go, customers can add funds into their GCash, Maya and Shopeepay digital wallets. Bills payment for…

BNPL and consumer finance app BillEase has partnered with Malaysian payment gateway provider iPay88 to provide merchants with flexible payment options for their customers. This is made possible through BillEase’s easy-to-implement integration stack which enables enterprises to grow their businesses and offer their customers BNPL payment options through this partnership. The integration stack is powered by Singapore-based technology company OpenFabric, enabling iPay88 to quickly and easily integrate BillEase’s payment methods. The integration allows the merchants’ technical teams to deploy a BNPL solution in 1-3 days. Through this partnership, online and offline retailers will now be able to offer shoppers three installment…

Booming digitalization and increased government support have fueled the growth of the Philippines’ fintech sector. In recent years, the country has witnessed an increase in the number of fintech startups and recorded strong growth in fintech funding activity. In 2021, Filipino fintech startups secured a record of US$840 million in funding, up by a staggering 513% from 2020’s total of US$137 million, data from UOB show. In 2022, though investments slowed down amid a global startup funding contraction, fintech companies managed nevertheless to secure the third largest sum across ASEAN, raising a total of US$344 million. The sector is also…

Singapore Management University (SMU) is a melting pot of the region’s future leaders of innovation and business. It has been making a global impact through its expertise in Asian-centric knowledge — its programmes are geared towards nurturing future leaders with the competencies to thrive in the Asian Century. Part of its ability to achieve such deep expertise is a world-class faculty and diverse student body, hailing from all parts of Asia. SMU sat down for a chat with Mai Thi Hoai Thu, an alumnae of the Master of IT in Business (MITB) Artificial Intelligence programme about her MITB journey and…

HitPay, a Singapore-based payment platform for SMEs, has partnered with Filipino BNPL and consumer finance app BillEase to offer local businesses card-free installment payment option to their customers at checkout. Through BillEase, online and offline retailers can offer shoppers three installment options at checkout with interest rates between 0% or 3.49 percent. SMEs will be able to access a full range of payment methods and payment infrastructure with a free account on HitPay. HitPay also provides free business software — including a free website builder, in-app pos system, no-code e-commerce plugins, and an invoice generator — with zero setup or…

Despite a contraction in startup funding, 2022 was a fruitful year for the Philippines’ fintech industry, which saw the government and regulators continue to support the sector through conducive initiatives, growing demand for digital financial services, and an overall maturing of the industry. Filipino fintech companies raised about US$344 million in funding in 2022, making up 8% of total fintech funding in ASEAN that year, according to the Fintech in ASEAN 2022 report by UOB, PwC Singapore and the Singapore Fintech Association. The sum makes the country the third biggest recipient of fintech funding across the region and is a…

In the Philippines, the fintech industry has been rising steadily, driven by booming digitalization, a conducive regulatory environment, and the government’s ongoing efforts to improve access the financial services. In 2022, consumer adoption of digital financial services continued to increase, with a study estimating a 75% increase in demand for online loans, and a 49% increase in demand for mobile wallets. Cryptocurrencies as well continued to see traction, eventually reaching a penetration rate of about 15%, according to Finder’s Crypto Adoption September 2022. To sustain the growth of the Philippine fintech industry, investors extended their support in the sector, pouring…

Philippines’ mobile wallet GCash can now be used abroad in Japan, Australia, and Italy with international SIM cards through the beta launch of GCash Overseas. GCash claims to be the e-wallet the first and only in the country to do so. The e-wallet secured the necessary approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to kick off the launch. This enables 1,000 Filipino users in Japan, Australia, and Italy to sign up for GCash even without a Philippine SIM. Once they’re fully verified, Filipinos can begin signing up for GCash, send money for free through the GCash-to-GCash feature, pay for…

Fintech Alliance.PH, the country’s largest association of fintech and digital players, has appointed Zdenek Jankovsky as the committee chairman for financing and lending. He is the Executive Director and Treasurer at Home Credit Philippines (HCPH). Through his expertise, Jankovsky will be working on promoting responsible lending with emphasis on protecting Filipinos’ financial health. He aims to lead the discussion of loans, lending, and credit and address any negative perception to provide more Filipinos with a better understanding of these topics. The Fintech Alliance.PH has over 70 corporate members and generates over 90 percent of digital-initiated financial transactions nationwide. “It is…

The Gobi-Core Philippine Fund is now a Co-Investment Partner (CIP) of the Philippine government’s Startup Venture Fund (SVF), one of the first since the fund’s inception in 2021. Through this partnership, Gobi-Core will be able to co-invest with the SVF in Philippine-based high-potential startups while bridging these investees to the rest of the ASEAN region. The investment partners will provide mentorship, managerial oversight, business networks or other support necessary for capacity building. In addition to that, the startups may be enrolled in DTI’s current accelerator or incubator program to assist them further. The SVF is a joint effort by the…

UnionDigital Bank, the digital banking subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines, has appointed Henry Rhoel R. Aguda as its new President and CEO effective 14 February 2023. Henry brings with him a wealth of experience in technology and transformation and a strong track record of success in the banking industry. In his new role, Henry will be working with the team to provide innovative and customer-focused digital banking solutions to the UnionDigital clients. Prior to this, Henry held several positions at UnionBank namely as its Chief Technology and Operations Officer as well as Chief Transformation Officer. Henry said in a…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has set higher liquidity and capital requirements for Electronic Money Issuers (EMIs) with significant outstanding e-money balance and large scale operations. The regulator is looking to promote resilience of EMIs amid the increasing IT related risks and to better protect the interests of E-money account holders in the Philippines. Large-scale EMIs are required to maintain minimum capital of PHP 200 million while the minimum capital requirement for small-scale EMIs is PHP 100 million. EMIs with monthly outstanding e-money balance of at least PHP 100 million are required to maintain liquid assets in trust accounts…

Singapore-based Inypay announced that it will be launching its neobank, which has been in development for over 6 months, in Q2 2023. The key focus of Inypay is sustainable fintech. In its mission to improve the lives of the underserved communities in Southeast Asia, they aim to achieve quality education through education credit, zero hunger through food credit, and better health and well being through medical credit. Inypay will be offering micro-lending, remittances, domestic payments, e-wallets, personalised and communal savings as well as micro-insurance in Southeast Asia. The company’s 35-people team in Singapore and India is building a digital bank…

HitPay, a Singapore-based payment platform for SMEs, has received a license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to be a registered Operator of Payment System (OPS). With HitPay, SMEs can integrate a full suite of payment options all on a single platform, set up no-code business tools to accept payments, and access the widest range of online integrations in the Philippines. HitPay’s payment gateway in the Philippines includes plug-and-play payment methods including InstaPay QR PH, PESONet, GrabPay, Billease, over-the-counter payments, cards, e-wallets, and online bank transfers. The company has also submitted a major payment institution license application to the…

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are innovative, agile and drive competition. However, they’re often shuffled to the back of the line when it comes to accessing credit. Lending to SMEs can be risky and time-consuming. Traditional financial institutions often require paperwork-heavy application processes and may find it difficult to execute credit risk decisioning without human intervention. Forty-four percent of SMEs need funding immediately to meet operating expenses, and 56% look to credit to grow their business. But when accessing credit quickly can mean the difference between a business flourishing or floundering, what are the options? Increasingly, disruptive lenders, including fintechs…

Fintech Alliance.PH, the country’s largest association of fintech and digital players, announced that it has appointed Pru Life UK, President and Chief Executive Officer Eng Teng Wong as the Chairman of its insurtech committee. Wong will lead Fintech Alliance.PH’s role in engaging, building and expanding a sustainable digital finance ecosystem. His leadership also aims to push online and digital platforms as a tool to raise awareness about insurance protection and make it more accessible to Filipinos. “As the current Insurtech Committee Chairman of the Fintech Alliance Philippines, I am excited to spearhead discussions and concerted initiatives that leverage mobile and…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has requested feedback from financial institutions and third-party providers for the Open Finance Pilot in the country. The regulator aims to strengthen the development of open finance technical and operational standards and arrangements through this. The PH Open Finance Pilot is a collaborative undertaking of financial institutions and third-party providers, participating on a voluntary basis, to explore the use of Application Programming Interface (API) technologies in the delivery of financial products and services responsive to the needs of customers. BSP said in a statement that it recognises that the “PH Open Finance Pilot is an…