MANILA -- Strong tie-ups between the public and private sectors and better infrastructure would ensure the inclusion of more people into the formal banking system, increasing their access to finance, especially with the help of technology.
This idea was stressed by regulators and market players alike during the Inclusion and Digital Transformation INDX Summit, which was spearheaded by the Fintech Alliance at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Tuesday.
“It’s really the collaboration,” BSP Managing Director for the Inclusive Finance Advocacy Office Pia Roman-Tayag said.
She explained that “learning goes both ways,” noting the need for coordination of regulations and infrastructure.
“The important thing is that the services we deliver really benefit (the target market) because that is what they need, it is want they can afford, (and) it is what will really address their everyday needs,” she said.
“I think that is responsible innovation and if we have that, we get the trust and the certainty from the public to use the system,” she added.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, during the same event, raised the need to change the mindset of the financial access deficient (FAD) group of the society to be able to increase the reach of financial services.
“When we change the mindset, that’s when we will realize that digital technology is the one that will help them in first, the know-how; second, on financing and financial access; and third is market access,” he said.
Lopez explained that digital transformation would be a big help that would upgrade and propel the businesses of small entrepreneurs.
“We have to appreciate that so they themselves will be the one looking for it and wanting to get it. They have to be oriented and not be afraid that these will be the enablers and tools that will empower them,” he said.
The government has been pushing for the use of digital technology to further help micro entrepreneurs, who usually do not have access to banks or being shunned by big lenders because they are considered a high-risk sector.
Lopez, thus, expressed the need for another segment of the financial sector that would focus solely on micro entrepreneurs.
This segment could include microfinance institutions, cooperatives and rural banks, he said.
“Having this structure, being enabled also by technology, will be key to really unlock the potential reaching out to more micro and small (businesses),” he added. (PNA)
