THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has allotted P3.5 million to support capacity training initiatives that will benefit seven rural cooperatives in Negros Occidental and Isabela.
The USAID provided the funding to a subsidiary of renewable energy (RE) provider Citicore Power, Inc. and Netherlands-based firm Agriterra for the “Generating Rural Opportunities by Working with Cooperatives (GROW Coop) initiative.”
“Through a grant from the USAID… the parties (Citicore Candlewick Bioenergy, Inc. or CCBI, and Agriterra) shall implement a 15-month community development program aimed at generating income sources and enhancing the quality of life for communities within or near CCBI plantations,” Citicore Power said in a statement on Wednesday.
CCBI is a forest management company that produces sustainable biomass fuel chips, while Agriterra is an organization that specializes in providing training and advice to cooperatives.
On Wednesday, Citicore Power separately told BusinessWorld that the USAID allocated the P3.5 billion for capacity building and training initiatives for seven growth-oriented agriculture cooperatives (GOACs).
The GOACs include the Buenavista Upland Agricultural Cooperative, Carabalan Upland Agricultural Cooperative, Mahalang Upland Agricultural Cooperative and Alolong Upland Agricultural Cooperative, and Binadlan Bi-ao Agricultural Cooperative, which are all located in Negros Occidental; the Kauswagan Sang Pangabuhi Agriculture Cooperative and Riverside Upland Agricultural Cooperative in Isabela.
The cooperatives have been benefitting from Citicore-Agriterra-USAID project since March.
“We are very grateful for this partnership with USAID and Agriterra to help uplift the lives of communities where our projects are located. We believe that giving these cooperatives the necessary training and tools will help them perform better, earn more, and ensure their long-term sustainability,” Citicore Power President, Oliver Y. Tan said.
“CCBI is committed to promoting inclusive growth and creating opportunities for its local communities. The company supports programs that create sustained shared value for its project sites and its host communities,” he added.
Last month, Citicore Power announced its plan to reinvest the proceeds from its energy-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) offer in 15 pipeline solar projects in Luzon.
The company targets to hold the country’s first “energy REIT” in September or October, and hopes to raise up to P10 billion in proceeds.
This year, the RE firm has allotted P4 billion in capital expenditures for solar and hydro projects. — Angelica Y. Yang
NOBU Manila at City of Dreams brings back its Sunday brunch, highlighting the new-style Japanese cuisine globally popularized by the legendary chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The brunch action stations offer an extensive selection of appetizers, varied fare of kushiyaki or grilled skewered seafood, red meat, poultry and vegetable items, a choice of seafood and vegetable tempura, sautéed or grilled seafood, meat, and vegetables complemented with a hearty selection of rice, salad and soup dishes. Diners can choose their preferred dishes from the display counter, chefs prepare fresh from the kitchen, and served on mini plates and lacquer masu (Japanese cups) to be enjoyed family style. Guests can also opt to remain at their table and pick dishes off the brunch menu as they enjoy a choice mocktail, chilled juice, soda, tea or coffee that are included in the brunch. For P2,950 net per person, Nobu Manila’s Sunday eat-all-you can brunch menu becomes even more attractive, as it offers a 25% discount until Aug. 31 for fully vaccinated individuals availing of the Sunday brunch promotion. The discount applies per person during a single, dine-in transaction upon presentation of the diner’s vaccination card and a valid identification card. Nobu Sunday Brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations are encouraged due to limited seating and restricted capacities for indoor and al fresco dining. For the rest of the week, Nobu Manila is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. offering donburi specials for lunch, and an a la carte and signature Omakase menus for dinner.
Conrad Manila’s Brasserie on 3 reopens
CONRAD Manila’s award-winning dining restaurant Brasserie on 3 welcomes back patrons with a festival especially designed by Executive Chef Daniel Patterson. The live food stations serve a special selection including Brasserie’s Signature Bulalo, Creamy Laksa, a Sashimi-Sushi bar, a Tempura section, and Fresh Seafood prepared a la minute. There are also Asian Favorites (Hainanese chicken, dimsum basket, Korean beef bulgogi, duck red Thai curry, crispy pork belly, ox-tail kare-kare, and Brasserie 3’s 48-hour beef bulalo, among others), From the Grill (Wagyu beef burger, organic chicken, and savory daily roasts, among others), or Pizza & Pasta stations, each complemented by the Chef’s daily offers of appetizers, soup, and dessert. A salad bar offers salads-in-a-jar with fresh organic vegetables ready with a variety of salad dressing mixes. The dessert station offers the latest craze: Flambe crepe suzette, along with the wide variety of local and international sweets, and a chocolate tower. Guests may also choose from a premium a la carte menu to add to their interactive buffet experience. Brasserie on 3 has stringent health measures in place including social distancing practices, acrylic table barriers and a digital a la carte menu which can be viewed by scanning a QR code for contactless ordering, among other best practices. Brasserie on 3 is open on Fridays to Sundays, with lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Buffet lunch is at P2,200 net per person, while dinner buffet is P2,400 net per person. For inquiries or reservations, call 0917-650-4043 or e-mail conradmanila@conradhotels.com.
Kenny Rogers goes Korean with Kimcheese Roast
KENNY Rogers Roasters now gives its customers a Korean flavor experience with the new Kimcheese Roast. The chicken is marinated with Gochujang paste to give a sweet, sour and spicy flavor that’s distinctly found in Korean cuisine. Each chicken comes with Kenny Rogers’ signature Kimcheese sauceand a serving of sesame bean sprouts. With the new Kimcheese Roast, two new side dishes are available: Kimchi and K-Glazed Potatoes or gamja jorim. The new Kimcheese Roast comes in two main meal selections: Solo Plate B features a quarter Kimcheese Roast with Kimcheese pour over sauce, two side dishes, rice, and a Kenny Rogers muffin for P 315.00; and the Kimcheese Roast Group Meal which has a whole Kimcheese chicken, four side dishes, four servings of rice, and homemade muffins, and a 1.5 liter bottle of Pepsi for P1,105. Complete the K-experience with Jinro Soju available in Fresh, Grapefruit, Green Grape, and Plum flavors for P145 each at selected Kenny Rogers Roasters stores. The Korean chicken is now available in all Kenny Rogers Roasters stores nationwide. Order viakennyrogersdelivery.com.ph or the hotline at 8-555-9000, GrabFood and Food Panda.
DITO Telecommunity Corp. has signed a data protection contract with a Singapore-based consultancy firm to help it comply with the government’s operational requirements.
Consultancy firm Straits Interactive said in a statement that it signed on Tuesday a Data Protection-as-a-Service (DPaaS) contract with DITO along with IT firm Advanced Information Solutions and Concepts, Inc.
DPaaS is a bundle of data protection services that will allow DITO to set up its data protection management program, Straits Interactive said. These services include its data protection platform software DPOinBOX and will also come with advisory support and training for DITO’s staff responsible for data protection.
“These three services will help move the organization towards operational compliance with data protection requirements in the Philippines,” Straits Interactive said.
“We are excited to be part of DITO Telecommunity’s journey towards data protection excellence and believe that the firm’s bold move in ensuring that they stay on top of data protection as part of their commitment towards their customers is truly commendable,” Straits Interactive CEO Kevin Shepherdson said.
The firm added that this will likewise help DITO protect its customers against data breaches, which have become more prevalent in an increasingly digitalized environment.
“Filipinos have come to rely on dependable connectivity as a result of the pandemic. And this, of course, has highlighted digital risks that need to be monitored closely,” DITO Chief Administrative Officer Adel A. Tamano was quoted as saying.
“By implementing DPaaS, DITO will have additional support in our data protection efforts for our customers. The service provides us with the ability to monitor and take action on data protection risks expeditiously as well as train new and existing staff in data protection matters,” Mr. Tamano said.
FILIPINO fintech startup NextPay raised $1.6 million from a new round of seed funding led by Golden Gate Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, and Gentree Fund, the private investment vehicle of the Sy family, which owns the SM Group.
NextPay, which was launched during the pandemic in 2020, plans to use the funds to develop more digital banking solutions for its growing customer base of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It aims to provide access to financial services like digital invoicing, cash management, and batch payments to any bank or e-wallet in the Philippines.
Since its launch, the startup has processed over $9.1 million (P457.5 million) in digital transactions for more than 100 businesses with over 3,500 employees, the statement said.
“We believe that business banking will continue to digitally evolve, as the Philippines accelerates its digital transformation initiatives,” said Don Pansacola, NextPay’s chief executive officer and co-founder. “This investment supports our goal of putting the power of big banks in the hands of small businesses.”
Other foreign and local investors include Tribe Capital, Broadhaven Ventures, the Ayala Group’s Kickstart Ventures, Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., Rohit Mulani of GoTrade, and Goodwater Capital, which has invested in Facebook, Spotify, and Twitter.
The fundraiser adds to the $125,000 pre-seed investment the startup received after graduating from the Y-Combinator program in April.
NextPay is now seeking partnerships with other organizations, businesses, and startups to create a more seamless financial ecosystem for its clients.
“The success of our seed funding exercise will help us accelerate our plans of introducing more meaningful digital banking solutions, including, but not limited to, corporate cards, loans, and integrations with other platforms focused on MSMEs. We will also be hiring more talent to make the NextPay platform more comprehensive, simple, and easier to use and avail of,” said NextPay Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer Aldrich Tan.
“NextPay uniquely addresses the local needs of its customers by matching SMEs looking to go digital with mobile and convenient digital financial tools, which scales dynamically with their businesses,” Gentree Fund Vice President Mark Sng said. “As a key infrastructure layer for our budding Philippines startup ecosystem, Gentree believes that NextPay will play a key role in supporting our entrepreneurs and enabling the Philippines digital economy.” — BHL
Here’s what to expect in the new bill format that’s launching in September.
Here’s a tip you would want to know: understanding your Meralco bill can help you manage your energy consumption better, and actually help you save money.
Based on market research, a lot of the details are often overlooked because people may find the bill a little hard to read. So, as part of Meralco’s customer-centricity efforts, the company decided to fix that problem.
“Meralco conducted research and banked on consumer feedback to provide a bill format that we hope provides complete information that encourages energy efficiency,” says Ferdinand O. Geluz, First Vice President – Customer Retail Services and Chief Commercial Officer of Meralco.
In the Meralco Business Center (BC) Foot Traffic study, about 50% who transact with Meralco are household heads aged 45 and above with children. Presbyopia, the gradual loss of your eyes’ ability to see things clearly up close, sets in at age of 40. That meant that around 50% of bill readers needed their reading glasses to see the smaller font on the current format.
Additional insights from real customers and eye tracking studies led to several changes in the bill format. Every adjustment made was aimed at enhancing readability and keeping customers better informed and smarter with their power usage.
Easier on the eyes
The first thing customers will notice is the sky-blue box on the upper right-hand corner of the bill. The section prominently features the total amount due, due date, and your 10-digit Customer Account Number (CAN) for easier reference when paying your bill.
To improve readability, the page was upsized to 8” x 11”, an increase of three inches, allowing for bigger font for hassle-free reading.
“Mas clear yung mga info katulad ng amount kasi malaki at colored; mas malaki yung pagka print ng records, mas klaro at detailed,” as mentioned by a residential customer in a recent consumer study. (Info like the amount are clearer because it’s bigger and it’s colored; the printing of the records is bigger, clearer, and more detailed.)
What new features can residential customers expect?
The new Meralco bill format now includes ‘Your rate this month’ or the effective peso per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate for your monthly consumption. This is computed by dividing your ‘Total Energy Amount,’ found at the back page of the bill, by your actual consumption. This may also change every month depending on prevailing rates and how much you consume.
Meralco has also expanded the ‘Your monthly consumption’ table to cover up to 24 months instead of the previous 13. Not only will you be able to see the trend of your power usage throughout the year, but you’ll also be able to compare consumption this month with last month versus last year.
It’s best to compare the same month this year with the same month last year as the temperature can affect consumption. For example, it is good to compare a June 2021 bill with a June 2020, versus May 2021 because June tends to be cooler versus May.
For your residential bills, you’ll now be able to see your average consumption per month, per day, and how this all amounts to pesos so that you have more control over your consumption and spending.
Moving to the back of your bill, you will notice more conversational headings, ‘What you’ve paid’ and ‘What remains unpaid,’ over a more detailed breakdown of your charges and payments. You can now verify your last six payment transactions, complete with amount, date of payment, and even the payment location.
“Ang pinakamaganda sa likod, nakarecord na yung history of payments mo so pwede ka na mag-compare,” as mentioned by a residential customer in a recent consumer study. (The best part is the one at the back, your history of payments is recorded so you can compare.)
Meralco found out that some customers rummage through their pile of bills to check what they have paid. This makes it easier for most of us.
To know more about the new Meralco bill for residential customers, you can watch this video here.
There’s also something new for businesses
For businesses, Meralco has made the same improvements, and packed it with more information to help businesses be more efficient. For instance, the ‘Your electric bill’ section explicitly states your billed demand and actual consumption. Giving more meaning to these, you will find at the back of the bill how your consumption and demand contribute to your total bill via a graph.
The ‘Your electric bill’ portion also includes your monthly kWh rate and load factor making it easier to track. And if your business is qualified to shift to the contestable market, you can leverage your load factor when negotiating with Retail Electricity Suppliers for competitive rates and use your bill as proof of your contestability.
In the ‘Your consumption explained’ section, there is a month-to-month comparison of your consumption as well as your actual demand against minimum billing demand. Your power factor is also indicated, which tells you if you are optimizing your electrical facilities by keeping this number above 85.
Going green with the new bill
Sustainability was championed by Meralco when President and CEO Atty. Ray C. Espinosa took over in 2019. Since then, Meralco has embedded sustainability as foundational to the business, and this was an inspiration in designing the new bill format.
You will also find an info box that highlights the environmental impact of your power usage. It’ll show the equivalent amount of greenhouse gas emissions, which will hopefully inspire more responsible energy use and serve as a reminder to show Mother Earth some love.
Service with a passion
All these improvements come as a result of a shift in priorities at Meralco, Geluz explains.
“In the last few months, our motto has been ‘service with compassion.’ With accumulated bills during ECQ and many being out of work, our kababayans were hard pressed to keep their accounts updated,” he says.
“We thus allowed installment plans at a magnitude unprecedented in Meralco’s history, balancing this with our duty to keep the energy industry solvent as the collecting agent for transmission and generation companies which also have their fiduciary responsibilities.
“Moving forward, and as signaled with all the effort behind this new bill, we will continue pursuing our passion of transforming customer experience in all our transactions and touchpoints.
“The new and improved Meralco bill, it’s clearer and gives more power to customers, by giving them a better understanding of their bill so they can better manage their consumption.”
“Masaya ka nang nagbabayad,” as mentioned by a residential customer in a recent consumer study. (You can now pay with joy.)
Coming this September.
#MorePowerToYou #ServiceWithPassion
For concerns you may reach us through the following channels: residential hotline 16211, business hotline 16210, email: customercare@meralco.com.ph. For businesses, you may also contact your Relationship Manager or Biz Partner Manager.
THE PESO climbed against the dollar on Wednesday despite fears of stricter lockdowns following a rise in cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The local currency closed P50.37 per dollar on Wednesday, rising by five centavos from its P50.42 finish on Tuesday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website.
The peso opened sharply weaker at P50.40 against the dollar and declined to as low as P50.43, while its intraday best was at P50.35 versus the greenback.
Dollars traded dropped to $686.5 million on Wednesday from $842.13 million on Tuesday.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the peso climbed slightly despite a proposal to tighten restriction measures anew to prevent the Delta variant from spreading further, which could affect the economy’s recovery prospects.
“Going forward, risk of lockdowns could reduce economic activities and imports, as seen since the pandemic started last year,” Mr. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
OCTA Research proposed that Metro Manila and nearby areas be placed under stricter lockdowns again as early as Aug. 1 amid rising cases of the Delta variant in the country. The group of public health researchers warned that the number of new COVID-19 infections could rise to 5,000 daily towards the end of August if lockdowns are not imposed.
The Health department reported 4,478 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which brought active cases to 54,552. As of July 24, there were 119 cases of the Delta variant in the country.
Meanwhile, a trader said the weaker-than-expected US durable goods report for June also affected peso-dollar trading.
For Thursday, the local currency may retreat anew “amid hawkish expectations from the US Federal Reserve policy meeting overnight.”
Markets are waiting to see whether the Fed will provide any clues on the timing of tapering later in the day amid surging US inflation, Reuters reported.
Both Mr. Ricafort and the trader expect the peso to range from P50.25 to P50.40 versus the dollar on Thursday. — with Reuters
PHILIPPINE shares slipped on Wednesday on fears of a tighter lockdown as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections rise anew and due to the spread of the Delta variant.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 49.55 points or 0.76% to close at 6,473.03 on Wednesday, while the all shares index shed 29.66 points or 0.73% to 4,010.09.
“Market [is] pricing in Delta variant spread and stricter lockdown worries but the fact that big losses in early morning trade tempered on close showed bargain hunting at work,” First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said in a Viber message.
“In addition, IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) lower GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast for the ASEAN-5 and the Oxford Economics’ expectation that the Philippines would suffer the worst economic scarring in the Asia-Pacific, weighed on the sentiment,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said in a separate Viber message.
“Many traders were also on the sidelines, waiting for the next quarantine measures,” she said.
“It is mainly the lack of demand for shares that is keeping prices depressed,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.
“Although we are not seeing a spike in cases just yet, these fears may persist for months as the disease has proven to be very unpredictable. The only upside is the pace of vaccination,” Mr. Mangun added.
COVID-19 infections rose by 7,186 to bring active cases to 56,477 on Tuesday, based on data from the Department of Health. This was the highest daily tally in over a month or since June 13 when daily cases increased by 7,302.
There were 119 Delta variant cases in the Philippines as of Sunday.
The OCTA Research Group said hospitals in Metro Manila may be filled by the middle of next month if the country records a surge in Delta infections and called for an “early circuit-breaker” through targeted lockdowns.
All sectoral indices posted losses on Wednesday. Financials lost 18.10 points or 1.28% to 1,391.27; industrials went down by 105.80 points or 1.15% to 9,031.92; mining and oil shaved off 94.38 points or 0.97% to 9,591.71; property declined by 23.35 points or 0.75% to 3,074.79; holding firms decreased by 30.27 points or 0.46% to finish at 6,473.06; and services inched down by 4.48 points or 0.28% to 1,552.47.
Value turnover increased to P4.49 billion with 1.08 billion shares switching hands on Wednesday from the P4.30. billion with 1.17 billion issues traded the previous day.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 144 versus 44, while 37 names remained unchanged.
Net foreign selling ballooned to P772.37 million on Wednesday from the P329.92 million logged in net outflows on Tuesday.
“We expected the PSEi’s pullback although it managed to stay above the 6,450 support, which it may maintain until the end of the week,” AAA Southeast Equities’ Mr. Mangun said. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS should consider alternative data beyond the usual credit scoring techniques following the rise in the number of gig-economy workers, a central bank official said.
“We’re seeing a trend of more and more millennials not going into the employed sector, but choosing, in fact, not even choosing, maybe by circumstance, they are forced to go into the gig economy,” Ellen Joyce L. Suficiencia, director of the Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), said in a webinar hosted by Malaysia-based FintechNews Wednesday.
“That also poses a challenge, because our financial service providers are only relying on typical payroll-based solutions and positioning… that will definitely be a huge exclusion factor moving forward,” she added.
Ms. Suficiencia cited data from the Credit Information Corp. indicating that less than 50% of the adult population has a credit record. She said that lack of verifiable Know-Your-Customer documentation from prospective borrowers prior to the national ID implementation was also a challenge.
She said policymakers are flying blind due to limited granular data on other categories like farmers and the micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises.
“It’s easy to look at these groups as homogenous and not recognizing that within these groups there are sub-categories with distinct challenges. So I think that’s important to recognize these data from a regulatory perspective,” she said.
Dev Dhiman, Asia Pacific managing director at data intelligence firm GBG PLC, said credit access is harder for the unbanked including farmers and rural residents, and even young people that are trying to borrow for the first time.
“We see this in lots of the emerging markets in Southeast Asia — the people who get credit are the ones who have credit before, because they have the formal history. This is why alternative data is hugely important” Mr. Dhiman said.
Paolo Azzola, chief operating officer at PayMaya Philippines, Inc. said merchants and not just consumers should also be the focus for broadening financial inclusion.
“If you only have the consumer side and not the demand or merchant side, then it’s really difficult to close the loop of financial inclusion. If you have both sides working at it together, that’s really powerful,” he said.
He said PayMaya has started to go into lending this year, tapping data from sari-sari stores that are already remittance agents or providers of bill payment and mobile phone load services through channels like Smart Padala.
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Chief Risk Officer Marita Socorro D. Gayares said the bank hopes to capture rural areas where credit gap remains significant. Since 2019, she said the bank has provided credit to about 145,000 self-employed and microentrepreneurs through BPI Direct BanKo.
“We’re in the smaller municipalities. It’s because that is where we need to back the informal segment of our society,” Ms. Gayares said, noting the bank is looking forward to partnering with fintechs to bridge the credit gap. — Luz Wendy T. Noble
THE second-quarter official estimate for production of palay, or unmilled rice, has been reduced to 4.17 million metric tons (MT), down 1.4% from the previous estimate of 4.23 million MT issued in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In a report Wednesday, the PSA said its new estimate for the three months to June was based on the status of the standing crop as of June 1.
The projection, if realized, will represent a 1.2% year-on-year increase from the year-earlier output of 4.13 million MT.
The expected area to be harvested for the quarter fell 0.8% from a year earlier to 947,835 hectares.
The yield per hectare was estimated to increase 1.9% to 4.40 MT.
A total of 830,122 hectares of the updated standing crop, equivalent to 3.71 million MT, has been harvested.
“Of the total area of 541,279 hectares of standing crop for the July to September 2021 harvest, 54.8% was at the vegetative stage, 24.4% at the reproductive stage, and 20.7% at the maturing stage,” the PSA said.
Meanwhile, the PSA said corn production estimate for the second quarter was upgraded by 0.1% from April to 1.454 million MT, also based on the June 1 standing crop.
If achieved, the projected corn output will represent a 7.3% year-on-year increase.
The expected harvestable area for corn during the three months to June is expected to rise 4.1% year on year to 407,837 hectares.
The yield per hectare for the quarter was expected to rise 3.2% year on year to 3.57 MT.
A total of 309,569 hectares of the updated standing crop, equivalent to 1.18 million MT, has been harvested.
“Of the total area for standing corn at 675,031 hectares, which is to be harvested for July to September 2021, 50.9% were at the vegetative stage, 34.6% at the reproductive stage, and 14.5% at the maturing stage,” PSA said.
The Department of Agriculture has a palay production target of 20.47 million MT in 2021, against the 19.44 million MT output recorded in 2020. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
THE DEMOCRATIZATION of financial services in the Philippines continues to improve with the growing participation of communities through small businesses like sari-sari stores, a payments industry executive said Wednesday.
“Digital hubs in the communities (play) a key role. Beyond remittance, community hubs such as sari-sari stores serve as bridges to the digital world. They will soon become digital agents for banks, e-commerce, and so on, and we will see that happening in the next coming months,” according to Mar M. Lazaro, managing director and head of Enterprise Business and Sales at PayMaya Philippines, Inc., at the BusinessWorld Insights online forum.
“We are seeing democratization of access to financial payments especially at the grassroots level,” he added.
Fintech Alliance.Ph Chairman Lito M. Villanueva said the government’s efforts are further accelerating financial inclusion.
“The aim of the government is really to push for a sustainable digital economy,” he noted.
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ vision of a digital and financially inclusive Philippines has always been within the reach, especially with the current innovations and fintech innovations being implemented nationwide,” he added.
“What we are doing here is help shape the Filipinos’ consumer and financial behavior towards digital finance and cashless transactions.”
Kiranjit Singh, head of Strategy 3 Division at Ipsos, said there has been a lot of progress in terms of financial inclusion in the last three to four years.
“But what is important is not the statistics. We should have a meaningful financial inclusion [that] is beyond transactions by making it available to more Filipinos for them to utilize certain financial tools for personal growth and even for their businesses,” he added.
“We have made great strides in terms of getting them into the system, but now the next steps are making them become savvy, go beyond the basic financial inclusion and make the tools and the solutions available to them,” he explained.
Valenzuela City Mayor Rex T. Gatchalian emphasized the importance of good connectivity in achieving the financial inclusion goal.
“It’s not just the government that has to work double hard because the government’s eagerness is also there — the enabling laws and enabling programs are already there. You can spur excitement all you want, but if the basic infrastructure is not there, it’s like corralling a herd of sheep inside a small pen, which is not conducive to growth,” he said.
“As more people work from home and as more people study from home, the inefficiencies of the private sector, especially the data service providers, are actually showing up. If we can’t even provide basic connectivity, I think more than just pointing our fingers to the government, we have to look at the major players when it comes to data connectivity, and they have to really shape up,” Mr. Gatchalian added.
JF Darre, chief data officer and head of Financial Services at GCash, said financial inclusion and meeting the new needs of consumers in the “now normal” should be a collective effort.
“We each have an important role to play. We all have to focus on building up the infrastructure and giving out the national IDs so that people can get started on their digital journeys,” he said.
“Platforms like GCash need to leverage their access to millions of customers by sharing that access with as many partners as possible, partners who will in turn live with us and design and build products that are affordable, accessible, and understandable so that people can get started on their journeys,” Mr. Darre added.
Zayd Tolentino, chief technology officer at Singlife Philippines, said: “Before and beyond these technologies, the key to success in any initiative is having the right mindset. The first thing that any organization would need to do to achieve digital transformation is to reshape the culture.”
“Before even investing in any new technology, the first step is investing in the right people who believe in legitimate disruption. Having the right people with you can get you where you want to go, so let’s collaborate more closely to make financial inclusion more possible for Filipinos,” he added.
Rogie P. Niño, assistant vice-president and head of Business Project Management Office at InLife, said: “We continuously plan on how to cope with this pandemic by adopting the benefits of financial technology. With our partnership with Lazada, we immediately beefed up our InLife packages to remain ahead of our competitors who didn’t have similar offerings.”
“We continuously partner with fintech companies, provide suitable products and services, and expand our payment gateway in the midst of this pandemic. We embody the culture of being agile, customer-focused, constantly sharpening our skills, and being open to change,” he added.
Fintech Alliance.Ph Chairman Lito M. Villanueva said the government’s efforts are further accelerating financial inclusion.