The ASEAN Access to Digital Finance Study measures the impact of digital financial services for consumers and MSMEs in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
PH fintech startup Plentina is celebrating its second anniversary this October and reported that the number of users of its app has reached 286,000 users.
Voyager Innovations, the technology company behind e-wallet platform PayMaya and soon-to-be-launched digital bank Maya Bank, said it raised $210 million in new funds, propelling its valuation to unicorn status at nearly $1.4 billion.
Said to be the first of its kind in the Philippines, the payment service allows users to transfer money to any bank or e-wallet without the need for the recipient’s account details – only an email.
Jovelyn Hao, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s FinTech Innovation and Policy Research Group acting head, said the central bank is open to leveraging the gains brought about by fintech innovations amid the pandemic.
Aside from venture capital, Plentina co-founder and CEO Kevin Gabayan said government grants that do not add red tape would also contribute to a startup’s progress.
Fintech startup Plentina recently appointed Alex Aronson, a veteran of the e-commerce and retail technology industry, to be its next general manager for the Philippines.
A recent study of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said among the industry’s weaknesses include issues arising from access points, the distrust from using technologies, poor connectivity, and the high cost of Internet in the country.
