FinTech Alliance.PH charts nation’s digital finance evolution

ByFintech Alliance.Ph

FinTech Alliance.PH members and partners gather during the 2025 General Membership Meeting to map the next chapter of the Philippines’ digital finance journey.

FinTech Alliance.PH, the country’s largest consortium of digital finance organizations, held its 2025 General Membership Meeting at The Marquis Events Place in Bonifacio Global City, signaling a new chapter in the Philippines’ digital finance evolution.

In his Chairman’s Report, Founding Chairman Lito Villanueva recounted the Alliance’s journey from its five founding firms to a thriving network of over 130 corporate members. These organizations now power more than 95% of the nation’s retail digital financial transactions. Villanueva reaffirmed the Alliance’s commitment to fostering a safer, smarter, and more inclusive digital finance ecosystem amid global economic headwinds and intensifying cybersecurity challenges.

FinTech Alliance.PH Founding Chairman Lito Villanueva delivers the Chairman’s Report, outlining key initiatives to drive digital resilience, innovation, and inclusive growth in the Philippine fintech sector.

He also previewed the upcoming 2025 Philippine FinTech Report—developed in partnership with SGV & Co. and FinTech News Singapore—which highlights early accomplishments such as meeting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s digital payment targets and the country’s successful removal from the FATF grey list.

FinTech Alliance.PH members and partners unite for the ‘8M Digital Jobs by 2028’ initiative during the signing of the Digital Collaboration Wall, marking a strong public-private partnership to create a future-ready Filipino workforce.

Villanueva announced eight key initiatives for the year ahead, including:

  • The Fintech Collaborative Corporate Venture Fund
  • An industry-led Fraud Bureau
  • Promotion of Digital PERA for long-term savings
  • Launch of the Alliance AI Circle of Excellence
  • The Manila Tech Summit 2025
  • Stronger partnerships with regulators and the DICT
  • Global representation at the Singapore FinTech Festival
  • He urged members to “collaborate without ego, innovate with integrity, and scale with shared purpose,” underscoring the Philippines’ rising influence in global fintech.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda delivers his keynote address at the FinTech Alliance.PH 2025 General Membership Meeting, highlighting the government’s vision for a digitally inclusive and future-ready Philippines.

A major highlight of the event was the ceremonial signing of the Digital Collaboration Wall to support the “8M Digital Jobs by 2028” initiative—an ambitious effort with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and private sector partners aimed at generating eight million high-quality digital jobs, especially in underserved communities.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda delivered a keynote speech outlining the government’s digital roadmap, including programs like Free WiFi for All, Last Mile Connectivity, and the establishment of Digital Transformation Centers. He stressed the importance of human-centered, inclusive digitalization.
“Today, we are not just finance professionals, analysts, or regulators—we are trailblazers,” Aguda said, aligning with President Bongbong Marcos’s goal of a fully digital economy.

The event also saw the signing of several strategic Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with key industry organizations including:

  • Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines (AAP)
  • Women in Security Alliance Philippines (WiSAP)
  • Philippine Chief Information Officers Association (PCIOA)
  • CIBI Information Inc.
  • These collaborations are designed to strengthen AI innovation, cybersecurity, fraud intelligence sharing, and trust across the fintech sector.

Another key moment was the presentation of the inaugural BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. FinTech Leadership Award to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Emilio Aquino. Villanueva lauded Aquino as a “transformative leader and brilliant strategist” for modernizing regulatory practices through initiatives like Check with SEC and ZERO online registration.

In his remarks, Aquino reflected on the country’s recent milestone of exiting the FATF Greylist: “We have all forged a path from grey to great, and we achieved this milestone together as a nation. It takes the same collective effort to keep it that way.”

The event concluded with the induction of new members including AI Rudder, Electronic Transfer and Advanced Processing (ETAP) Solutions, Island Credit Solutions, LenderLink, Octopus Technologies, Paynamics Technologies, Tayag Ngcouhca & Chu, and V5Pay. Their addition strengthens FinTech Alliance.PH’s position at the forefront of the nation’s digital finance landscape, now encompassing over 130 organizations across banking, payments, insurtech, regtech, AI, and emerging technologies.

Source: The Daily Chronicle

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