FINTQnologies Corp. (FINTQ), the financial technology arm of Voyager Innovations, Inc., is eyeing to forge partnerships with cooperatives and associations in line with its objective to include more Filipinos in the formal financial system.

In an interview with BusinessWorld, FINTQ managing director Angelito M. Villanueva said the firm is looking to tap more cooperatives and associations to improve financial inclusion in the country.

“Right now, we are cornering the cooperative sector. Lendr will [be partnering with cooperatives through] shared services agreement wherein we’re covering the entire 26,000 registered cooperatives nationwide,” Mr. Villanueva said, referring to its digital lending platform.

By doing this, Mr. Villanueva said FINTQ will be able to tap 14 million Filipinos and introduce formal financial services to them.

“When you talk of sectors, like senior citizens, the youth, overseas Filipinos, they would have at least associations. Once you can capture them through [associations], then you can easily entice them to become part [of the system].”

Aside from associations, Mr. Villanueva said the firm would like to tap the transport sector, particularly groups of jeepney, taxi and tricycle operators and drivers.

By doing the “wholesale approach” or by tapping the said groups, FINTQ will move closer to achieving its goal to help have 30 million Filipinos financially included by 2020.

“We aim that by 2020, unbanked and underserved Filipinos will at least get on board basic financial services: an electronic wallet for payments and remittance, and a microsavings account,” FINTQ said in its second Inclusive Digital Finance Report released last month.

“We want them to build their financial footprint through our retail products so that they could eventually become fully banked with the power to access more sophisticated forms of financial services.”

Currently, FINTQ has partnered with 32 non-government and people’s organizations.

Meanwhile, the company is set to launch a microinsurance platform under its KasamaKA initiative, allowing partner insurers to offer insurance products for as low as P20.

Mr. Villanueva added that the firm will also launch microsavings and microinvestment platforms “this year.”

Voyager Innovations is PLDT, Inc.’s digital innovations unit. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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