Last year, Manila was named one of the world’s friendliest cities in the world for fintech startups, and was recognized for its strong English-language skills and well-established outsourcing industries. Fintech companies already compose 15% of Manila’s startups, according to Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report, and the market is expected to grow from about US$5.7 billion in 2018 to US$10.5 billion by 2022. The Philippines’ fintech industry is expected to continue growing in 2020 on the back of memorable developments and deals in 2019. The following are seven fintech startups in the Philippines which made significant strides last year and…

Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) is reporting record-highs in digital growth amid the pandemic and Philippines’ enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). The bank is seeing triple-digit growth of up to 821% in key metrics of RCBC’s online and mobile facilities during the ECQ, Lito Villanueva,  Chief Digital Innovation and Inclusion Officer said that this is evidence of a substantial shift to digital in the Philippines’ society. “The positive numbers have also been buoyed by the enforcement of ECQ in many localities in the Philippines which drove new and existing clients from the physical branches to our digital platforms,” said…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) granted authority to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) to accept government funds to assist the social amelioration program under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. RCBC is the first private universal bank permitted to aid in the efforts of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The Yuchengco-led bank is now allowed to accept deposits from the agency and help distribute emergency cash aid to beneficiaries though its digital platforms. Earlier, the BSP has also permitted the use of RCBC’s two digital platforms to help in the quick disbursement of the social…

Union Bank of the Philippines through its UShare platform, is enabling non-government organizations (NGOs) in the country digitize with some recording up to 30-fold increase in daily online donations after an Enhanced Community Quarantine was imposed on March 17. With the quarantine extended until end-April, NGOs in the largely cash-based country are turning to digital channels for support of their COVID-19 programs aimed at flattening the curve. Through UShare, foundations, non-profits, and academic institutions, are empowered to receive donations and payments online, and can easily integrate the platform on their respective websites. UShare has been making significant impact for Philippine…

IDC Financial Insights today released the 2020 update of its FinTech Fast 101 research which details a list of fast-growing FinTechs in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) from 11 key markets. IDC’s FinTech Fast 101 research refers to fast-growing fintech players based on extensive on-ground analysis of fintech players from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Australia. 5 Fast Growing FinTechs in the Philippines ACUDEEN Acudeen is a P2P invoice marketplace that allows SMEs to sell their receivables to its network of funders, enabling them to receive funds ahead of time. Acudeen’s online platform…

PLDT, a major telco player from the Philippines, KKR, a Global investment firm, Tencent, the China-based internet giant, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group announced the signing of agreements which will see the parties commit up to US$120 million in new funding towards expansion efforts of Voyager Innovations, a digital financial services company. This follows KKR’s, Tencent’s, IFC’s and IFC Emerging Asia Fund’s initial investments totaling US$215 million made to Voyager in 2018, and underscores the investors’ support of Voyager and its strategy to provide greater access to digital financial services across the Philippines through its financial…

Private companies join hands in support of the government’s social amelioration program to Filipinos severely affected by the COVID-19 enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) through the promotion of alternative encashment facilities nationwide. In an agreement signed today, an operational plan was formed among groups of rural banks, cooperatives, and microfinance institutions non-government organizations, and a payment collection company to provide alternative option to quickly disburse government’s over P200 billion emergency subsidy to over 18 million families through the use of RCBC’s pocket and mobile automated teller machine (ATM) known as ATM Go. This collaboration was called Damayang Sambayanihan: Hatid-Ayuda sa Kababayan.…

From the first three days of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), new enrolments in RCBC Online Banking continued to rise. The bank registered last Thursday, March 26, a new high of new enrolments in one day. The daily average of new signups post-ECQ, from March 17 to March 26, grew by 117 percent from the daily average pre-ECQ in the same month. Significant dips in signups are noted during the weekends. For transactions, the most growth was observed in the Cardless ATM Withdrawal function. A 633-percent increase in count and a 416-percent increase in throughput was recorded between pre- and…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) logged a 259% increase on new sign-ups on its online banking service in the first three days of the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Bank data show a daily average of 1,116 new enrollments from March 17 to March 19. This is more than double the average daily enrollment of 431 recorded in the same month before the enforcement of the ECQ. The biggest number of new sign-ups at 1,155 was observed in March 17, the first day of the Luzon-wide quarantine. “The online and mobile banking facilities of RCBC are ready and…

Finastra has crowned Team ‘WonderTech’ the grand prize winner of its largest-ever global fintech hackathon on its open development platform, FusionFabric.cloud. The Manila-based team was selected for the top honor for its ‘Agree Farm App’ from among five category winners at Finastra Universe New York. The app, which aims to connect rural farmers in the Philippines with access to bank loans, was chosen by an audience of senior professionals representing financial institutions. The team’s app was built using open APIs on FusionFabric.cloud, Finastra’s open development platform. Team ‘WonderTech’ consisted of four young professionals and university students in Manila: Michael Puzon,…

Amidst the current contagion of potential pandemic proportions, the Philippines has reported a series of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last four days. Given the high risk of local transmission, the Fintech Alliance.ph has heightened its awareness campaign on the use of digital channels especially on reducing the handling of physical cash, which according to various advisories, may contribute to the spread of the virus. “We enjoin the public to utilize any digital means of making financial transactions such payments or transfers using QR code, or through InstaPay or PESONet across banks and non-bank providers, contactless, and other payment technologies.…

Oriente, the technology and data science company creating opportunity through financial access for Southeast Asia, announced today that it has secured a US$20 million debt funding facility from Silverhorn Group, a leading Hong Kong-based multi-asset investment firm. The facility, which can increase up to US$50 million, will be used to grow Oriente’s loan book and extend the reach of its fPay Later solutions to millions consumers and micro-enterprises in the Philippines. This new funding helps accelerate Oriente’s commitment to expand financial access  through its fintech platform in the Philippines (www.cashalo.com), that has grown over 20% MoM since its launch. In…

Dubai-based bank RAKBANK recently enhanced its current remittance footprint in the Philippines by partnering with BDO Unibank, a full-service universal bank in the Philippines. The Bank’s RAKMoneyTransfer (RMT) services will now enable customers to make instant, frictionless, and secure money transfer services to any bank account in the Philippines through RippleNet. Peter England, RAKBANK CEO, said, “We, at RAKBANK, are committed to increasing our international remittance footprint and are delighted to enhance our RMT services into the Philippines, thanks to our partnership with BDO. This partnership aims to offer the Filipino expat community here in the UAE the ability to…

Azimo, a European based money transfer service, announced today that it has partnered with Ripple, the enterprise blockchain solution for global payments. Azimo has launched its first service using Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity solution (ODL) to send faster and cheaper cross-border payments to the Philippines, with plans to expand to more markets in 2020. The Philippines is one of the top remittance destinations globally, receiving $34 billion in 2018. ODL uses the digital asset XRP and has the potential to reduce liquidity costs by up to 60% compared to traditional banking solutions. “We’ve been interested for a long time in the…

TONIK announced today that it closed a US$ 6 Million round of equity funding led by regional VC investors Insignia Ventures Partners and Credence partners. The funds raised will be used to launch its digital bank in the Philippines, targetting the start of commercial operations in 2020. Interestingly, one of its lead investors, Insignia Ventures Partners is also participating in a Razer-led bid for Singapore’s digital banking license. While TONIK drums up its status as the first digital bank in South East Asia, it is important to note that the Philippines does not have a separate digital banking framework like…

A Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official has raised the need to check on whether financial technology (fintech) firms can indeed boost financial inclusion in the Philippines, citing the large number of Filipinos who remain unbanked. In her speech during the media launch of the “Fintech for Impact” partnership program between ING Bank, N.V. and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in Makati City Wednesday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy Managing Director, Pia Bernadette Roman-Tayag, said fintechs have continuously presented innovative financial services solutions using the latest technology. Roman-Tayag said people can now easily…

The Philippines is all set to cement its role as the next hotbed for fintech and tech innovation with all the necessary ingredients to tech up already present in the Southeast Asian country. A solid financial and business ecosystem with projected 6.2% GDP growth in 2020; an innovation-ready regulatory environment; a large, young, and increasing population with an internet penetration rate of 63% — most of them through mobile devices — the Philippines is certainly ripe for fintech growth. “We strongly believe that this is a pivotal moment for us to become more relevant and competitive in the global marketplace.…

CIMB’s digital-only banking arm in the Philippines and Jumio announced today the bank has picked the end-to-end identity verification provider to power its digital onboarding. According to their press statement, CIMB Bank PH’s mobile app integrates Jumio’s AI-driven identity verification technology to provide a “safe, secure and fast digital onboarding experience”— what used to take 15 minutes with a video KYC process now takes less than five minutes, resulting in an increase in conversions and happier customers. Jumio’s identity verification solution uses machine learning, AI, certified liveness detection and face-based biometrics to ensure the person behind a digital transaction is…

The Board of Directors of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has approved the creation of cloud-based digital bank with a rural bank license as disclosed with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Once regulatory approvals are secured, RCBC’s virtual bank will become the Philippines’ first digital bank deployment by a local universal bank. So far, three entities with digital banking operations have been given a green light by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, namely ING, CIMB and Tonik, all owned by regional companies. The new digital bank will be run by Lito Villanueva, RCBC executive vice president and chief…

With a population of over 100 million people and rising Internet and mobile penetration rates, the Philippines is poised to see its fintech industry boom. The sector has witnessed significant growth over the past couple of years on the back of government support and efforts coming from regional tech players as they look to tap into the country’s many opportunities in the field of digital financial services. Players like Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek, its Singaporean competitor Grab as well as Hong Kong’s Oriente have all built a presence in the Philippines’ fintech sector, while China’s tech firms Alibaba and Tencent…