November 1, 2025 | 12:00am
Innovation isn’t a solo act but a team effort. And just like a long-term relationship, it takes two to tango and both sides to make it work.
In a world that celebrates disruption and individuality, it’s easy to overlook the fact that real progress happens when we work together. No single company, sector, or institution can create lasting change on its own. The most meaningful breakthroughs emerge when government, industry, and innovators come together to build something bigger than themselves.
In fintech, this spirit of working with rather than working for has become the heart of inclusion. Partnerships turn
technology from a shiny privilege into something that truly serves people, especially those who need it most.
And we’ve seen this collaboration in action. More than 50 percent of Filipinos were financially included in 2024, according to the World Bank Group’s triennial report, thanks to stronger linkages between banks, e-wallets, and government programs. From digital ID systems to open finance frameworks and real-time payments, these joint efforts have transformed aspiration into access and imagination into reality.
In fintech, collaboration isn’t just a strategy; it’s the foundation that keeps innovation grounded in empathy and purpose. It’s what turns technology from a privilege into a public good, a way to relieve the pain points of the ordinary Filipino.
Our partnership with the Department of Transportation is a shining example of empathy in action. Through cashless commuting initiatives, we’re transforming how Filipinos travel. Every day, thousands endure long lines just to get to work or school, and this project was built around their experience. With a simple tap or scan, commuters now enjoy faster, smoother rides on the MRT, and soon, the LRT-1 and LRT-2.
It’s more than just convenience. It’s restoring time, reducing stress, and returning dignity to the daily commute. This is what innovation looks like when it begins with understanding people, not processes. Because when empathy fuels innovation, progress stops being merely technological; it becomes deeply human.
Empathy also reaches beyond our shores to the millions of Filipinos building lives abroad. Through our partnership with Meridian, a global leader in instant payments, RCBC now enables Filipinos to open and manage a US virtual account via the RCBC Pulz app without a US address or Social Security Number. For overseas workers, freelancers, and digital professionals, this means faster, safer, and more affordable access to their hard-earned money.
And with Visa Direct, we’re enabling Filipinos to send funds instantly to over 190 countries, connecting 8.5 billion endpoints across 160 currencies. Because for us, innovation with empathy isn’t just about faster payments. It’s about bringing families closer, breaking borders, and making financial freedom truly human.
But perhaps one of the most inspiring examples of collaboration in action is our partnership with the Social Security System for the MySSS Card powered by RCBC DiskarTech. It’s the first all-in-one debit card that seamlessly integrates SSS services with DiskarTech’s full suite of digital banking features. More than just a card, it’s a symbol of inclusion, giving millions of members easy access to their benefits and enabling convenient transactions anytime, anywhere. This is a huge step toward a truly cashless, digitally connected future for the Filipino.
By combining SSS’s reach with RCBC’s technological and innovation expertise through DiskarTech, we’ve designed a solution that directly addresses the real challenges of accessibility and convenience for millions of Filipinos: from pensioners in far-flung provinces to workers in urban centers.
This public-private partnership shows how government institutions and financial innovators can come together to drive inclusion nationwide. It’s a shared mission, one recognized through RCBC’s Best Disbursement Partner award from SSS for three consecutive years. It’s not just a recognition of capability but of compassion and shared purpose.
It’s also a reminder of how far partnership can take us. In just six years, RCBC has received over 400 accolades, including being named the Philippines’ Best Bank for Digital by Euromoney for six consecutive years (2020–2025), making it the first bank in Asia to achieve this milestone. We were also honored with a Gartner Eye on Innovation award, the Sustainable Innovator of the Year at the Singapore FinTech Festival FinTech Excellence Awards, and recognized as ASEAN’s Best Customer Experience Bank by the ASEAN FinTech Forum.
This is innovation at its most meaningful; when a program becomes not just a policy, but a promise. A commitment that every Filipino, regardless of where they live or how much they earn, deserves access to safe, convenient, and dignified financial services.
In the same way that no relationship thrives on the effort of just one person, progress in innovation demands partnership, trust, communication, and a shared purpose. Government and private institutions, regulators and disruptors, we’re all part of the same ecosystem, working hand in hand to build a more inclusive and empowered Philippines.
Because in the end, it’s never just about who leads or who follows. It’s not just you or me.
It’s about moving forward together.
This is the strength of we.
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Lito Villanueva is the Philippines’ leading thought leader in inclusive digital finance. As EVP and chief innovation and inclusion officer of RCBC, he has driven large-scale digital transformation initiatives that advanced sustainable inclusion. He is the founding chairman of FinTech Alliance PH, with over 140 corporate members representing 95 percent of digital retail financial transactions, co-founder of the Asia FinTech Alliance, and the first global chairman of the South Africa-based Alliance of Digital Finance and Fintech Associations. Recognized as a People Asia Men Who Matter 2025, Mr Fintech by NewsBizAsia, Asia Trailblazer, and AGORA Awardee, he continues to shape the fintech landscape in the Philippines.