Aboitiz fintech arm forms advocacy body
November 4, 2022 | 12:00
SINGAPORE – The financial technology venture studio of Aboitiz Group is setting up a foundation to champion the development of an inclusive open financial framework in the Philippines.
UBX Open Finance Executive Director Jaime Garchitorena said the Philippine Open Finance Foundation aims to adopt open finance as a technology that provides Filipino consumers with the right set of financial tools and solutions for their needs.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child, and since open finance in the Philippines is still in its infancy, UBX has decided to launch a shared village we call the Philippine Open Finance Foundation,” Garchitorena said at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
The Foundation brings together relevant stakeholders, including other financial institutions, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, community groups and academia to come up with meaningful initiatives that will support the development of open finance in the Philippines.
Initiatives include advocating for the inclusion of finance in the Philippine education system, dialogues with relevant government institutions, particularly the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), and strong collaboration with industry players to realize the benefits of open finance.
Open finance has the power to accelerate the country’s financial inclusion goals as it democratizes access to a range of financial products and services, especially for the unbanked and underbanked as well as growing businesses.
Open finance contributes to access and interoperability among financial ecosystem participants, allowing financial institutions to reach the unbanked and underbanked, while empowering them to tailor solutions that meet the needs of consumers and businesses.
Open finance enables participants to acquire customers at scale, develop solutions specific to unbanked, underbanked and growing businesses, and give consumers greater choice and control over their data.
“The Philippine Open Finance Foundation aims to ensure that the adoption of open finance as a technology is based on an educated and trusting audience and an educated and trusted set of participants. One of the core efforts will be consumer protection through a strong dispute resolution mechanism, Garchitorena said.
Aside from consumer-focused initiatives, the Philippine Open Finance Foundation also aims to assist the BSP in creating, developing and evolving the open finance framework in the country, allowing for “consent-driven data portability, interoperability and collaborative partnerships between financial institutions and third-party providers (TPPs). »
“We plan to work with a diverse set of partners and institutions, advocating for the adoption of open finance, consumer education and consumer protection. We invite and encourage you to join our village to bring open finance to all Filipinos , Garchitorena said.
