THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has launched its framework for open finance until 2024 and has named industry stakeholders that will spearhead policy formulation for data sharing.

The Open Finance Oversight Committee Transition Group (OFOC TG) is expected to facilitate the initial policies and standards formulation and support pilot implementations under the open finance regulatory sandbox. They represent industries including banks, electronic money issuers-others (EMI-others), operators of payment systems (OPS), and fintech firms.

“We must fully recognize the breadth and depth of open finance as it would entail a wide-ranging scope of activities covering a broader array of financial products and involving multiple stakeholders across the financial sector,” BSP Assistant Governor Lyn I. Javier said.

Representing universal and commercial banks is Jonathan John B. Paz, vice-president and data protection and enterprise information security officer at Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). He will alternately be represented by Frederick M. Faustino, Business Development and Onboarding division head at BPI Digital Channels Group.

Thrift banks will be represented by Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) Executive Vice-President and Operations Group Head Noli S. Gomez. The alternate representative is PSBank Senior Vice-President and Head of Marketing and Communications Group Emmanuel A. Tuazon.

Rural banks will be represented by Tanya P. Hotchkiss, Cantilan Bank, Inc. executive vice- president, while the alternate is Cantilan Bank President Charles Y. Hotchkiss.

Meanwhile, Tonik Digital Bank, Inc. President Maria Lourdes Jocelyn S. Pineda will be the representative of digital banks for open finance policy formulation. In case of her absence, the alternate is Victor Q. Lim, Jr., Tonik chief operating officer.

Industry feedback from EMI-others will come through OmniPay, Inc. Chief Technology Officer Wilfred G. Tan. He will alternately be represented by OmniPay Chief Operating Officer Anna Liza Eugenio-Alincastre.

Meanwhile, CIS Bayad Center, Inc. Chief Product Officer Edward Joseph Inza-Cruz will be the representative of OPS in the committee. CIS Bayad Center Chief Marketing Officer Dennis S. Gatuslao is the alternate representative. 

Finally, the fintech industry will be represented by FinTech Alliance.PH and FinTech Philippines Association. Imelda C. Tiongson, trustee and chair of technoEthics of FinTech Philippines will be the primary representative, while Mark S. Gorriceta, managing partner at Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra, will be her alternate.

Members of the transition group are expected to carry out their responsibilities for no longer than two years or until the establishment of the OFOC.

The World Bank and International Finance Corp. (IFC) were also part of the launch last month.

“Open finance aims to provide customers with greater choice and control over how they interact with financial institutions. It can lead to deeper and more dynamic markets, in which customers enjoy a better experience, more choices, and better access to a range of financial products and services,” IFC Country Manager Jean Marc Arbogast said.

Circular 1122 released by the BSP in June 2021 introduced the country’s open finance framework, which allows for customer consent-driven data sharing among institutions that follow the same data security standards.

The central bank hopes streamlining open finance will be useful in Know Your Customer and credit underwriting processes and is expected to boost financial inclusion in the country. — L.W.T. Noble

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