BSP names members of open finance group

MANILA, Philippines — The composition of a transition group tasked to oversee the development of open finance in the country has been completed, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno issued Circular Letter 2020–002 naming the members of Open Finance Oversight Committee Transition Group to lead the constitution of the formal open finance framework.

Representing the big banks are Bank of the Philippine Islands data protection and enterprise information security officer Jonathan John Paz and BPI business development and onboarding and digital channels group head Frederick Faustino as alternate representative, while Philippine Savings Bank operations group head Noli Gomez and marketing and communications group head Emmanuel Tuazon as representatives of thrift banks.

Cantilan Bank president Charles Hotchkiss and executive vice president Tanya Hotchkiss are representing the rural banking sector, while the digital banks are represented by Tonik Digital Bank president Long Pineda, and chief operating officer Victor Lim.

OmniPay chief technology officer Wilfred Tan and chief operating officer Anna Liza Eugenio-Alincastre are representing electronic money issuers, while CIS Bayad Center chief product officer Edward Joseph Inza-Cruz and chief marketing officer are representing the operators of payment systems.

FinTech Alliance PH and Fintech Philippines Association is represented by trustee Imelda Tiongson and Mark Gorriceta who is managing partner at Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra.

Open Finance is the extension of data sharing principles, assigning greater control to customers over their own data and enabling them to allow third party providers access to their data across multiple financial products and services.

This can offer both businesses and individuals better financial products and services. It also provides financial institutions the opportunity to reduce their transaction costs, as well as the ability to better tailor their products to the evolving needs of customers.

Through the three-year Open Finance Roadmap 2021-2024, the BSP aims to promote collaborative partnerships and digital transformation as key enablers toward economic resilience and financial inclusion.

The members of the transition group, participating financial institutions and third-party providers in the regulatory sandbox, and international partners from the World Bank (WB) and the International Finance Corp. (IFC) joined the BSP in the launch.

“As part of the core team that will drive this open finance initiative to impactful and life-changing opportunities for the ordinary Juan and Maria, all of us should mark this event with a sense of duty and responsibility to our nation and countrymen in elevating the level of financial inclusion and at the same time, maintaining the integrity of the entire financial system,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said.

BSP Assistant Governor Lyn Javier said the breadth and depth of Open Finance should be fully recognized as it would entail a wide-ranging scope of activities covering a broader array of financial products and involving multiple stakeholders across the financial sector.

IFC country manager Jean Marc Arbogast said open finance aims to provide customers with greater choice and control over how they interact with financial institutions and help accelerate financial inclusion by improving access to credit, improving the tools available for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to manage day-to-day finances and transactions.

“It can lead to deeper and more dynamic markets, in which customers enjoy a better experience, more choice, and better access to a range of financial products and services,” Arbogast said.

Meanwhile, BSP director Melchor Plabasan said Open Finance would enable financial institutions and third parties to develop and offer a wide array of digital financial products that are both responsible and responsive to customers’ evolving needs.