FINTECH | Open finance bill seeks wider access to credit
The measure aims to address the gap between Filipinos’ increasing participation in the digital economy and the limited credit information available to lenders, particularly for individuals without bank loans, credit cards, or deposit accounts.
A bill filed in the House of Representatives seeks to establish a legal framework for consumer-directed financial data sharing, allowing Filipinos to use alternative financial data to improve access to loans and other financial services while creating a new regulatory body to oversee the system.
House Bill No. 9149, or the Open Finance and Consumer Data Empowerment Act of 2025, would give consumers the legal right to authorize accredited lenders and financial service providers to access up to 24 months of their financial and transactional records for credit evaluation. The data may include bill payments, subscription activity, rewards card usage, and other alternative data sources that could supplement traditional credit records.
The measure aims to address the gap between Filipinos’ increasing participation in the digital economy and the limited credit information available to lenders, particularly for individuals without bank loans, credit cards, or deposit accounts.
“The digital economy has outpaced our regulatory infrastructure. Filipinos are generating rich financial data every day through their phones, their e-wallets, and their utility payments. We aim to leverage that data to democratize access to financial tools and services that have long been unavailable for millions,” Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, a co-author of the bill, said.
Todd Schweitzer, a board trustee of the Fintech Alliance Philippines, said the proposed legislation could both expand financial inclusion and encourage greater competition in the financial services sector.
“Open Finance legislation matters because it accomplishes two things at once: it directly expands financial access for consumers, and it opens new markets for industry to competitively serve customers the system has ignored,” Schweitzer said.
The bill cites data showing that digital payments accounted for 57.4% of retail payment transactions in the Philippines in 2024, while about 58 million Filipinos use e-wallets. Despite the growth of digital payments, proponents said many consumers remain underserved by the formal financial system because they lack conventional credit histories.
If enacted, the measure would also establish the Consumer Data Commission under the Office of the President. The proposed body would oversee banks, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, utilities, and other entities that collect consumer data. Its responsibilities would include setting technical and security standards for data transfers, accrediting organizations authorized to receive consumer data, conducting compliance audits, enforcing sanctions, submitting annual reports to Congress, and reviewing the law every two years.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is partially assisted by artificial intelligence (AI).
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