I arrived from Oxford and London simply hours earlier than Day 1 of the Manila Tech Summit 2025. I instantly realized that the reality rang clear: the present should go on. And it did, brilliantly.
The 2-day summit organized by FinTech Alliance.PH at Shangri-La The Fort was nothing in need of surreal. Months of preparation culminated in a high-impact gathering that drew greater than 100 distinguished audio system, panelists and moderators from throughout the globe. Collectively, they delivered highly effective insights on the place the Philippines stands and the place it should go on this fast-changing digital economic system.
For the primary time in our nation’s fintech historical past, a minimum of President Marcos delivered the keynote tackle. His presence alone affirmed the summit’s stature because the nation’s main platform for monetary expertise.
After I greeted him upon arrival, the President remarked with candor: “I cancelled all my engagements at the moment besides this one.” On that very same day, a storm had prompted the suspension of presidency work and lessons. But he made time for this summit. That alternative spoke volumes in regards to the gravity of our collective mission: to construct a digitized Philippines powered by a financially inclusive ecosystem for all.
What struck me most was that the President speaks fintech, not in jargon, however within the language of urgency, alternative and nationwide function. With readability and conviction, he mapped a digital future the place fintech is now not a facet dialog, however a centerpiece of the nation’s financial agenda.
His speech captured each the progress and promise of digital transformation within the Philippines. He was candid in regards to the darker facet of expertise: rampant fraud, cyber dangers, AI-driven scams and the menace of on-line playing. He reaffirmed authorities motion by means of the Nationwide Fiber Spine, the Nationwide ID system, Free Wi-Fi for All and stricter anti-scam laws.
This was a vital reminder that innovation should all the time stroll hand in hand with vigilance, client safety, safety and security.
Equally highly effective was his emphasis on reskilling Filipinos for jobs in AI, cybersecurity and e-commerce. This ensures that nobody is left behind on this digital revolution, not our farmers, not our lecturers, not our entrepreneurs. He spoke of how digital instruments have shortened queues, sped up transactions and expanded market entry and the way the digital economic system has already grown right into a P2.25 trillion sector, contributing 8.5 % of GDP and producing 11.3 million jobs.
His phrases had been each pragmatic and provoking: “Studying digital instruments takes just a little effort and time, however we should see this as an funding, an funding that pays again rather more than it prices.”
I couldn’t agree extra. This spirit anchors FinTech Alliance.PH’s renewed compass for the digital economic system: our 4T Framework – Tech for Good, Tech for Development, Tech for All and Tech for Belief.
Earlier than an viewers of greater than 1,300 C-level executives and international thought leaders, I laid out this four-point agenda.
Tech for Good means harnessing expertise to unravel actual issues whereas defending shoppers. With over 140 company members powering 95 % of retail digital monetary transactions within the nation, the Alliance upholds a strict zero-tolerance coverage towards misuse, significantly on-line playing.
Tech for Development positions digital because the engine of enterprise scale and market growth. With the suitable ecosystem, the Philippines is projected to grow to be a $1 trillion economic system by 2033, in accordance with S&P World Market Intelligence. The digital economic system might be central to attaining this milestone, serving as each catalyst and spine.
Tech for All displays our daring social aim: by 2028, 80 % of adults will personal digital accounts and 80 % of retail transactions might be digital. We name it the 80×80 by 2028 Agenda. That is greater than a metric. It’s a motion from entry to affect, guaranteeing that monetary inclusion interprets into actual empowerment and financial mobility for thousands and thousands of Filipinos who’ve lengthy been left on the margins.
Tech for Belief emphasizes that adoption is dependent upon integrity. Our elimination from the FATF grey listing and the EU’s high-risk listing was not mere compliance, it was international validation of our safeguards. With initiatives like QR Ph, Open Finance, Central Financial institution Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and Mission Nexus, the Philippines is not only catching up; we’re serving to outline the following frontier of trusted innovation.
The Manila Tech Summit was additionally a stage for history-making bulletins. First, the discharge of the inaugural Q3 Monetary Crime Panorama Report, a joint effort with our anti-financial crime ecosystem, establishing a stronger basis for cyber protection. Second, the creation of an industry-led fraud bureau with the BSP, SEC and CIC to fight cybercrime and help an e-KYC registry for Open Finance. And third, the revealing of the Philippine Pavilion on the Singapore FinTech Competition 2025, the place the nation will showcase its improvements to the world, alongside the discharge of the 2026 Philippine FinTech Report. We additionally formally introduced that the Manila Tech Summit 2026 might be held in Cebu, timed with the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship.
These milestones are greater than ceremonial. They ship a sign to the world that the Philippines just isn’t merely taking part within the digital economic system, however shaping it with function and foresight.
But what made this summit most historic was not simply the distinguished roster of audio system, which included Senator Bam Aquino, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda, DTI Secretary Cris Roque, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., SEC chairman Francis Lim and lots of international thought leaders. It was the unity of function that sure us all collectively.
The message was clear: the digital economic system is not only about apps, platforms or infrastructure. It’s about individuals. It’s about creating alternatives, constructing belief and securing our nation’s future.
The Manila Tech Summit supplied a glimpse of what’s attainable when authorities, regulators, {industry} leaders and innovators work in live performance. It demonstrated that inclusion just isn’t a catchphrase however a dedication, that progress is not only about GDP however about dignity and that belief is the bedrock of each digital transaction.
As President Marcos reminded us, digital is the trail to larger alternative for each Filipino. And because the FinTech Alliance.PH, with the 4Ts as our compass and the 80×80 Agenda as our rallying cry, we’re decided to construct a legacy of inclusion, belief, and progress for the following decade and past.
The Manila Tech Summit 2025 was not an endpoint. It was the start. A reminder that the Philippines stands at a crossroads, the place daring management, collaborative innovation and unwavering belief can form a digital future that really leaves no Filipino behind.
That is the promise of fintech when harnessed with duty and imaginative and prescient: not simply to remodel transactions, however to remodel lives. And in that promise lies the legacy we should now construct collectively.
