Philippines - A Fertile Ground For Blockchain & Crypto Currency

There are several factors that spur the growth of fintechs in the Philippines spread of internet and smartphones, large unbanked population and trust in technology, for example:

- Mohan

The Philippines has a large and rapidly growing population of internet and smartphone users, which has in fact facilitated the growth of the fintech sector in the country. Besides, a majority of the Filipinos consider the advantages of technology as a provider of opportunities far outweigh issues relating to security threats and frauds. This compares with the fact that only 31% of the population had bank accounts and Filipinos in general prefer to approach private lenders rather than banks for their financial needs. This trusting attitude towards technology and the low penetration of banking services naturally provide a fillip for the fintech enterprises.

The Philippines has a major share of its population working overseas - an estimated 10.2 million - and as much as $ 31.1 billion came as cash inward remittances to the country, in addition to $3 billion in wire transfers in 2017. And among the resident citizens, more than half live in rural areas and without any form of banking services. It is in this scenario that services such as mobile payments and money transfers became the simple alternative solutions.

A RESPONSIVE CENTRAL BANK

The central bank of the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has been very responsive to innovations and has been encouraging the development of automated remittance services, virtual currencies and other fintech services. While one has to acquire an additional license from BSP while registering a fintech company in the Philippines, the license allows the entrepreneur to operate as a financial institution, non-financial institution or a lending company.