A bill filed in the House of Representatives seeks to require financial institutions to consider alternative consumer data in credit assessments, potentially giving Filipinos without conventional banking records greater access to loans and other financial services.
House Bill No. 9149, or the Open Finance and Consumer Data Empowerment Act of 2025, would give consumers the right to authorize the transfer of up to 24 months of financial and transactional records to accredited lenders and financial service providers.
The data may include utility bill payments, subscription activity, rewards card usage and other digital transactions. These records could be used to assess borrowers who do not have bank loans, credit cards or deposit accounts.
“The digital economy has outpaced our regulatory infrastructure. Filipinos are generating rich financial data every day through their phones, their e-wallets, and their utility payments. We aim to leverage that data to democratize access to financial tools and services that have long been unavailable for millions,” said Tingog Party-list representative Jude Acidre, a co-author of the bill.
The measure would also require institutions holding consumer data to provide the information upon the consumer’s request, subject to technical, privacy and security standards.
Todd Schweitzer, a trustee of Fintech Alliance Philippines, said the proposed framework could expand financial access while creating opportunities for companies to serve consumers who have been excluded from traditional credit systems.
“Open Finance legislation matters because it accomplishes two things at once: it directly expands financial access for consumers, and it opens new markets for industry to competitively serve customers the system has ignored,” he said.
Digital payments accounted for 57.4% of retail payment transactions in the Philippines in 2024, while an estimated 58 million Filipinos use electronic wallets.
Despite this adoption, large segments of the population remain outside or underserved by formal financial institutions.
“Filipinos are digital natives, though, and have rich data sources beyond banking data to demonstrate their creditworthiness. What’s been missing is the legal right to put that data to work, and the mandate for data-holding institutions to provide that data upon the consumer’s request,” Schweitzer said
“This bill arrives at the right moment: the digital rails and data privacy standards are in place, demand is clear, and this bill would establish a pioneering framework to unlock a more consumer-centric financial services industry.”
The bill proposes creating a Consumer Data Commission under the Office of the President to regulate the collection, transfer and use of consumer data under the open finance system.
Its jurisdiction would extend beyond banks and other financial institutions to telecommunications companies, utilities and other entities that collect or hold consumer information.
The commission would be chaired by a Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner and co-led by at least a deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Its members would include representatives from the National Privacy Commission, National Telecommunications Commission and Philippine Competition Commission, as well as four private-sector representatives with expertise in banking, data protection or financial technology.
The proposed body would set technical and security standards for data transfers, accredit entities allowed to receive consumer data, conduct compliance audits and impose sanctions for violations.
It would also submit an annual report to Congress on consumer data rights and the implementation of open finance. The law would undergo a comprehensive review every two years.
