Digital lending, e-wallets most promising fintech services in PH

Digital lending, savings deposits, and mobile money/e-wallets are set to be the most promising fintech sectors in the Philippines going forward, according to Robocash analysts.

A survey conducted by the World Bank also showed the main drivers of financial inclusion and fintech are government policies and the Covid-19 pandemic. About 68% of the surveyed claim to have experienced and/or have experienced serious financial difficulties during that period.

The Philippines is no exception to this general trend, as revealed by Robocash analysts. The country’s financial services have become more accessible, as the number of accounts has
increased by 1.5x to 51.4%. Even more impressively, the share of credit and debit card owners has grown threefold (to 15.9%), of mobile accounts – five-fold (to 21.7%).

Finally, there is apparent simultaneous growth of borrowings (from 10.7% to 17.5%) and savings in financial institutions (11.9%-19.2%). These improvements are most noteworthy, as they set
up digital lending, savings deposits and mobile money to be the most promising fintech sectors in the Philippines.

Providing additional insight, the Robocash analysts comment: “From our perspective, Findex has confirmed most of what we’ve known already. We conducted a similar survey in the Philippines in 2021. Its results largely fall in line with The World Bank findings: the share of financial institution accounts (Findex – 45.9%, RCG – 38%), borrowings from financial institutions (17.5% vs. 22.5%), to name a few”.

The Robocash analysts said the catalyst behind such explosive growth is the Covid-19 pandemic, as 68% of the respondents claimed to have experienced financial difficulties at the time, and therefore were forced to adapt. “Naturally, government policies on financial inclusion have played their own part as well.”

Robocash Group operates in the Philippines through online credit service Digido, along with a financial mobile app UnaCash. Founded in 2013, the group focuses on providing technological finance solutions for the underserved by the traditional banking system.

All products of the group are built completely in-house using artificial intelligence, machine learning and data-driven technologies to provide precise and comprehensive risk management, comfort and speed for customers and efficiency for business.