By Vince Hermosura
Highlighting the Philippines’ growing reputation as a rising innovation hub, the country’s top tech and fintech leaders, through FinTech Alliance.PH, came together at the Singapore FinTech Festival to showcase digital excellence and strengthen collaboration with global partners.
The country’s largest and most influential fintech trade organization, representing more than 140 corporate members and accounting for 95 percent of retail digital financial transactions, FinTech Alliance.PH led the Philippine delegation in showcasing the nation’s achievements and breakthroughs in digital finance.
Recognized as one of the world’s most prominent gatherings of fintech professionals, executives, and investors, the Singapore FinTech Festival provides the Philippines with a prime platform to attract global partnerships and investments in its fast-growing fintech ecosystem.
Over the past three years, FinTech Alliance.PH has worked closely with the Philippine government in mounting the country pavilion to highlight the nation’s success stories and opportunities in digital finance. In 2024, the group hosted Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who also serves as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health. During her visit, she cited the Philippines as a model for promoting financial inclusion and measuring financial health.
Lito Villanueva, Founding Chairman of FinTech Alliance.PH and RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer, expressed gratitude to the government for its strong public-private collaboration toward digital transformation. He said that through events such as the Singapore FinTech Festival, the Philippines moves closer to becoming a global innovation hub, strengthening its roadmap and forging new partnerships.
Villanueva emphasized that the Philippines’ participation in the festival marks a pivotal chapter in the country’s digital finance journey, underscoring its growing global influence as a rising tiger in digital finance.
The first day of the pavilion featured welcome remarks from Villanueva, Sopnendu Mohanty, Co-Founder and Group CEO of the Global Finance and Technology Network, and Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Medardo G. Macaraig.
FinTech Alliance.PH’s participation in the Singapore FinTech Festival also reflects its commitment to advancing its advocacy presented during the Manila Tech Summit, where President Marcos served as keynote speaker. Villanueva reiterated his proposed 4T Framework—Tech for Good, Tech for Growth, Tech for All, and Tech for Trust—and his 80×80 Vision to onboard 80 percent of adults to digital transactional accounts and convert 80 percent of retail transactions to digital by 2028.
The Bagong Pilipinas Country Pavilion is co-presented by GCash and Maya, with support from Land Bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Social Security System, Department of Information and Communications Technology, RCBC, FinScore, Actico, TrustDecision, Hungry Workhorse, and Eco Global Consulting. It is made possible through collaboration among key government agencies, including the Office of the President, Department of Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Development Company, Department of Trade and Industry, Credit Information Corporation, Insurance Commission, and Department of Budget and Management.