The International Finance Corporation has announced its partnership with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and World Bank to launch the Open Finance PH Pilot. Following this collaboration, the financial institutions will focus on developing the Open Finance ecosystem for Philippine-based companies and customers.

The initiative aims to improve the way clients that lack documentation and the needed information for leveraging financial services build a financial profile, a credit history, and access loans and other products. The Open Finance PH Pilot was designed to voluntarily undertake financial institutions to co-develop an open and scalable ecosystem that offers customers the opportunity to take more control over their financial data. Furthermore, it also enables them to access a wide range of financial solutions from different providers.

More information on the Open Finance PH Pilot For the beginning of the project, eligible BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) are given the possibility to participate in the pilot. Their implementation represents the start of a new phase, incorporating the Revised Open Finance Roadmap (2023 - 2027) which has a priority set in actions of the BSP regarding the adoption of Open Finance in the Philippines. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also announced today the official start of the registration process for the Open Finance PH Pilot.

The products were based on the recommendations of the Open Finance Oversight Committee Transition Group, as well as a sub-working group (the Standards Consultation Working Group) which was composed of 19 volunteer financial institutions, banks, and fintech companies. These were tasked to review and recommend pilot procedures and standards. The Open Finance PH Pilot was designed to operate through the support of IFC and it will inform on the development of Open Finance technical and operational standards and arrangements.

An Open Finance ecosystem currently has potential for all stakeholders, and it is set to offer bank customers and MSMEs an improved suite of products and services that meet their needs, preferences, and demands, including tools from tailored payment schemes to customised investment recommendations. The solutions also assign clients more control over their financial data, after they provided the needed consent before the information is shared. In return, banks and other third-party providers have the possibility to assess credit risks more efficiently and securely, reducing costs and opening new revenue streams.

Moreover, an open system will also prioritise the partnerships from the industry: by opening up the market for new players, multiple banks, firms, and enterprises will be able to benefit from more affordable and accessible services that were designed for the underbanked and unbanked customers. The International Finance Corporation will continue to provide its expertise and services to BSP throughout the partnership by establishing an industry-driven advisory/consultative body to enlist private sector cooperation, while the bank will continue to offer technical assistance regarding building capacity and consensus across the concerned government agencies and companies. .