Regulators, policymakers, and lending industry leaders, including Salmon, Billease, LenderLink, and ADVANCE.AI/ADVANCE.CBP, met for the lending industry roundtable dedicated to expanding access to affordable credit.
At the event, entitled “Putting the Customer First: How Regulators and Fintechs Can Expand Safe, Reliable Financial Access”, participants agreed that widening credit access requires strengthening the foundations of responsible lending, with improved data infrastructure emerging as central to delivering more inclusive financial services.
The key takeaway from the discussion is that providing lenders with secure, consumer-authorized access to transaction data – from banks and insurers to utilities, retailers, and airlines, among others – is essential to expanding responsible access to credit. With regulator-mandated standards for security and authorization, this data enables more accurate risk assessment, broadening inclusion while maintaining strong, prudent underwriting standards.
Collaboration as the Catalyst
The roundtable reflected strong alignment between regulators and legislators on the critical role of opening access to data in advancing financial inclusion.
“The SEC is at the forefront of strengthening credit regulation, and we are actively exploring systems that allow credit information to be shared more effectively among regulated institutions,” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Rogelio Quevedo said. “We are also studying the use of technologies to strengthen borrower identity and data integrity. When lenders lack reliable credit history, risk premiums increase. Improving information sharing can help address that gap and support more affordable, responsible lending,” he added.
Cong. Jude Acidre, Chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, likewise underscored legislative support, citing the recent filing of the proposed Philippine Open Finance Act as a key milestone. He described this not only as a financial sector reform, but as a social equity measure with tangible benefits for consumers – including students, educators, and workers in the education sector.
“Financial inclusion has improved, but this could be further worked on. While inclusion is often measured by account ownership, the bigger challenge is expanding access to credit. Open finance – and the proposed legislation supporting it – can help address this gap,” said Chuchi Fonacier, an industry expert, reflecting on her prior experiences as Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Broad Industry Support
“Creditworthiness is no longer defined solely by past loans,” said Raffy Montemayor, Co-Founder of Salmon. “Everyday financial signals – mobile usage, utility payments, loyalty programs, even gym memberships – can help distinguish reliable payers from risky ones.”
“The real challenge isn’t customer willingness; people are open to sharing their data. It’s the absence of a standardized, secure framework, with government-mandated participation from institutions. Without clear rules and required participation, valuable data remains siloed, limiting responsible access to credit and slowing true financial inclusion,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to Pavel Fedorov, Co-Founder of Salmon, “secure and standardized API access to customer transaction data is fundamental to operationalizing the Open Finance Framework. Customers must be able to securely direct their machine-readable data to financial service providers of their choice.”
He pointed to international examples such as Cambodia, where regulator-enforced data-sharing frameworks have expanded credit access. This progress, he noted, has been supported by mandated API access to transaction data under the supervision of the Central Bank of Cambodia. “As the example of Cambodia shows, borrowing rates are to go down many fold when individuals are empowered to securely share their transaction data from institutions it is currently locked in,” he said.
Industry leaders echoed the importance of scalable infrastructure.
“Real-time, frictionless access to data is no longer optional – it’s essential for trust and growth,” said Georg Steiger, CEO and Co-founder of Billease. “APIs already power the financial ecosystem and every modern application in the market – so technologically, building this is not complex. The real challenge is ensuring that they are secure, standardized, and permissioned. Only then can innovation keep pace with risk while delivering real benefits to businesses and consumers alike.”
LenderLink, an innovative and secure credit data exchange platform, highlighted that it is a living example of what open finance can look like in practice. “We built this in the spirit of the BSP’s Open Finance framework, with minimal regulatory support. Looking ahead, clearer regulations for data service providers, standardized consent mechanisms, and APIs across financial institutions would accelerate this further,” said Christo Georgiev, Co-founder and CEO of LenderLink.
Meanwhile, Michelle Anne Chan, Country Manager for ADVANCE.AI and ADVANCE.CBP, both delivering proprietary end-to-end digital onboarding and credit information solutions in the Philippines, emphasized the role of AI as a key enabler for Open Finance. “Ultimately, AI will bridge all of this. From risk-averse onboarding to maximizing consolidated credit data sources – AI serves as the engine that drives speed, strengthens security, and ensures sustainable financial health for the industry. This enables Filipino lenders to assess more accurately, expanding financial inclusion while safeguarding ecosystem integrity.”
The roundtable concluded with a shared commitment to move from framework to coordinated implementation among the participants.
