AirAsia is providing its customers with contactless payment options by partnering with GCash and PayMaya. The digital payment option has been available in AirAsia Philippines’ on ground stations since the 1st February 2021. Customers can use their e-wallets for cashless transactions at AirAsia check-in counters nationwide when paying for additional baggage, meals, and other flight add-ons while checking in. To make the payment, customers will have to open the downloaded app of choice, scan the QR code displayed on the counter, enter the amount to pay and confirm the payment. Ray Berja, Chief Finance Officer of AirAsia Philippines said, “At…

The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved the guidelines on virtual asset service providers (VASP) and entities that facilitate financial services through the conduct of virtual asset (VA) activities. The said guidelines amended the regulations on virtual currency exchanges (VCE) that were issued in 2017. The board-approved framework expanded the activities subject to the licensing regime of the BSP from initially covering those involved in facilitating the exchange of fiat and VA. The exchange between one or more forms of VAs, transfer of VAs and safekeeping and/or administration of VAs or instruments enabling control over…

Finastra, a financial services software and cloud solutions provider, announced a partnership with HCL Technologies, an Indian multinational technology company, to provide treasury management technology in the cloud to smaller banks across the Philippines, India, Northern Europe and North America The partnership brings to market a new Digital Treasury as a Service offering, which enables banks to manage their treasury operations more efficiently and effectively. HCL’s Digital Treasury as a Service will be powered by Finastra’s Fusion OPICS treasury software and hosted on Microsoft Azure. Fusion OPICS will provide cost-effective support for global treasury trading operations, compliance and risk management…

The Fintech Alliance.PH together with 43 other private business groups in the Philippines have expressed support for the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill and are pushing for its quick enactment into law. The groups urged the congress to prioritise the bill and enact it within the month of January 2021. The joint statement reiterated that “every day of delay comes at the risk of losing more jobs and hemorrhaging more investments”. The bill passed in both houses of congress in November 2020 intends to boost businesses to market confidence by providing relief to those enterprises that…

CIMB Bank Philippines had doubled its deposit customer base to exceed 3 million total banking customers with an 800% increase in deposits balance sheet, and 30% of these deposit customers claimed that CIMB was their first bank account. Amidst the pandemic, average balance per customer and average cash-in per customer increased by 350% and 400%, respectively as the bank aims to encourage more Filipinos to save and to promote financial literacy. According to CIMB, 90% of survey respondents are looking for best deposit interest rates while 75% prioritise ease of opening a bank account. Additionally, more than half are looking…

DiskarTech, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) virtual bank, has emerged as the Philippines’ number one finance app released in 2020 across distribution platforms in terms of downloads according to App Annie, global provider of mobile data and analytics. DiskarTech had reached one million downloads just one month after its market launch. As of December 31, 2020, DiskarTech has been downloaded more than 3.5 million times. Aside from leading new local finance apps in downloads in the App Store and the Play Store, DiskarTech also reached the top ten spot among all new apps for both platforms. It placed ninth for…

UnionBank has signed a partnership agreement with FinScore, an alternative credit scoring company that is powered by telco data and advanced analytics, aiming to promote market efficiencies and expand the access of Filipinos to a broad range of financial services. The collaboration comes amidst the immense demand for digital loans and financing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership will enhance UnionBank’s credit decisions in several key products, including, but not limited to credit cards, quick loans, salary loans, POS loans, as well as enabling access to digital-first credit scoring solutions to its fully-owned subsidiaries. FinScore said its scoring models…

Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), the fintech arm of Globe Telecom and operator of e-wallet GCash, raised over $175 million in fresh capital and inches closer towards achieving unicorn status with a post-valuation close to the $1 billion mark. The funding came from ASP Philippines LP, a limited partnership fund managed by investment firm Bow Wave Capital Management (Bow Wave). “This investment from Bow Wave is a validation of both what we have accomplished as well as the potential of GCash in unlocking digital services in the Philippines,” said Martha Sazon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mynt. “The pandemic…

Philippine mobile money wallet GCash has hit PHP 1 trillion in transactions for the year 2020, recording a 254% year-over-year (YoY) growth. Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc. The app peaked at PHP 7.5 billion daily gross transaction value, and more than 6 million transactions a day. Meanwhile, its customer base is said to have ballooned to more than 33 million, a third of the Philippines’ national population, displaying strong growth from 20 million users in 2019. “The…

The two Philippines fintech groups, Fintech Alliance.PH and Fintech Philippines Association, announce plans to collaborate on the launch of the Philippines Fintech Industry Sandbox which is supported by the UK Prosperity Fund ASEAN Economic Reform Programme (ASEAN ERP). The initiative was announced during the World Fintech Festival which is a satellite event at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2020.  The sandbox initiative was inspired by the UK Innovate Finance’s Industry Sandbox Consultative Report and is envisioned to provide the fintech ecosystem in the Philippines with access to resources such as data, APIs, or reference architectures which enable entrepreneurs to create solutions…

Fintech News Philippines would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. We will be taking a break from the 24th December 2020 to the 3rd January 2021. Until then, you can access some of our year-end articles that may be of interest to you. We look forward to seeing you all again on the 4th January 2021! https://fintechnews.ph/41725/fintech/fintech-report-philippines-2020/ https://fintechnews.ph/44133/fintechphilippines/20-top-emerging-digital-finance-players-to-watch-in-the-philippines/ https://fintechnews.ph/44083/fintechphilippines/top-funded-fintech-startup-philippines/ https://fintechnews.ph/43547/virtual-banking/philippines-digital-banking-virtual-banking/ https://fintechnews.ph/44113/virtual-banking/philippines-is-the-latest-to-approve-a-digital-banking-framework/ https://fintechnews.ph/44261/open-banking/plans-for-the-launch-of-philippines-fintech-sandbox-are-underway/ https://fintechnews.ph/43903/redefining-finance-for-good/covid-19-a-catalyst-for-inclusive-digital-finance/ https://fintechnews.ph/38481/fintech/top-7-fintech-startups-in-the-philippines-for-2020/

Provenir, risk decisioning and data analytics software provider, announced a new data integration partnership with FinScore, an alternative credit scoring company in the Philippines that uses proprietary AI and machine learning technology in its predictive models to help financial institutions reduce defaults, increase approval rates, and combat fraud. The partnership aims to empower financial institutions in the Philippines to rapidly incorporate telco data and tap into the credit potential of the region’s unbanked, using a prebuilt integration within Provenir’s low-code user interface. Using alternative data sources like telco data, FinScore has the ability to determine creditworthiness, bridging the financial gap…

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) has announced the inclusion of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) among the four new members of the API Exchange during the Singapore FinTech Festival 2020. AFIN was established as a non-profit organisation in 2018 by the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). AMTD Foundation and Mastercard are AFIN’s corporate founding members. In July, local trade association Fintech Alliance.ph had joined AFIN as a member. “This is another step towards further promoting open banking regime in the Philippines by…

Backbase, a banking software provider, has been selected by DigiBankASIA to offer its full-stack digital engagement banking platform solution for its digital bank UNO. Together with ecosystem partners Mambu and Amazon Web Services (AWS), Backbase is powering UNO to deliver a full spectrum of digital financial services for its initial launch in the Philippines. Jouk Pleiter, CEO and Founder of Backbase said, “We are delighted to be chosen by DigiBankASIA to support the launch of UNObank. Our engagement banking platform and solutions have proven itself in other markets and will provide a complete front-to-back solution, agility and creativity that is…

Philippines startup First Digital Finance Corporation (FDFC), announced its partnership with prominent e-commerce platforms Shopify, Magento, Prestashop, and WooCommerce to bring BillEase which is its “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) solution to online retailers in the Philippines. Merchants that use any of these platforms can now easily integrate with BillEase and activate Pay Later, Pay in Installments and Pay with Down Payment, which will provide customers with flexibility in payments and smoother shopping experience. “With this integration, we’re bringing our financial product closer to consumers by making it easier for merchants to add our point-of-sale financing option. Installment purchase is…

UnionBank has partnered Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) to successfully complete a proof of concept (POC) for the issuance of a retail bond on a digital platform leveraging blockchain technology for bond tokenisation. The 3 and 5.25-year dual tranche issuance totaling PHP 9 billion by UnionBank was successfully mirrored on the platform co-created by UnionBank and SC Ventures, the innovation and ventures arm of Standard Chartered. Orders received were tokenised, and to stay within existing retail bond guidelines, tokens issued mirrored the traditional transaction but were not allocated directly to investors. SC Ventures built the bond tokenisation platform making the process…

Mastercard has announced a five-year partnership with PayMongo, a Filipino online payment platform, that allows businesses to quickly set up payment systems and accept multiple modes of payment such as cards, e-wallets and other alternative payment options. The strategic partnership with Mastercard will strengthen PayMongo’s business offerings by enabling the latter to be a Mastercard issuer to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Orchestrating this partnership is Mastercard Fintech Express, a tailored programme which provides fintechs such as PayMongo with increased speed-to-market, access to a suite of digital-first products, and a cross functional team of experts to provide strategic counsel and…

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will collaborate for an efficient and quick digital disbursement of cash assistance to displaced local and overseas workers affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. The funds will be disbursed through InstaPay bank transfers and RCBC’s DiskarTech app to the targeted beneficiaries as identified and verified by DOLE. Another disbursement mode would be through RCBC DiskarTech’s payout partners in 72 out of 81 provinces nationwide for beneficiaries without existing bank accounts. The cash assistance will be deposited to the individual beneficiary’s DiskarTech account or claimed through payout partners…

Philippine fintech startup JazzyPay has partnered with e-wallet GCash to provide cashless payment solutions to essential businesses. The GCash payment facility is now directly integrated into JazzyPay’s PCI DSS Level 1 compliant platform as a payment method for hospitals, clinics, schools, and other businesses across the Philippines. Prior to the pandemic, the digital payments space in the Philippines had already seen prominent growth in 2019, where credit and debit card transactions rose by 18 percent and 15 percent respectively. Meanwhile, e-money transactions recorded a 36 percent growth. Now, as the pandemic causes Filipinos to be more dependent on using cashless alternatives…

Though in the Philippines fintech is still in the infancy stage, adoption of digital financial services is on the rise. COVID-19 is further accelerating consumers’ shift to digital channels. A survey conducted earlier this year by PayPal showed that 87% of Filipinos increased their usage of digital payments during the pandemic. An overwhelming 99% said they plan to keep using digital payments even after community quarantines are eased. While COVID-19 increased usage of fintech services, the volume of ATM withdrawals on the other hand dropped by almost 30% for the first 45 days of the enhanced community quarantine, according to…