RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva (center) meets with delegates from Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon and India’s Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd. during a knowledge-sharing session on digital finance, financial inclusion, and fintech development at RCBC.
Banking leaders from Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and India’s Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd. (TMB) visited RCBC for a knowledge-sharing session on digital finance, financial inclusion, and fintech development, seeking to learn from the Philippines’ rapid digital transformation in the financial sector.
The visit, organized by the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) Center for Training and Research in Agricultural Banking, brought together banking institutions from three Asia-Pacific economies facing similar opportunities and challenges in advancing digital financial services.
Leading the discussions was RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva, who also serves as founding chairman of FinTech Alliance.PH. Villanueva shared key insights on the Philippines’ progress in digital payments, agency banking, financial inclusion, and the importance of multi-sector collaboration in building a thriving digital finance ecosystem.
The session highlighted how close cooperation among regulators, banks, fintech companies, government agencies, and industry organizations has helped accelerate financial inclusion and expand access to financial services across the country.
“It was a great opportunity to share how collaboration among regulators, banks, fintechs, government agencies, and industry associations has helped accelerate financial inclusion and expand access to financial services across the country,” Villanueva said.
Delegates also discussed the common challenges confronting emerging digital economies—from expanding financial access and accelerating digital adoption to strengthening financial resilience amid rapidly evolving technologies.
For Villanueva, these cross-border engagements underscore the shared mission of financial institutions across the region.
“What always inspires me during these exchanges is realizing that while every market has its own unique challenges, we are all pursuing the same goal: making financial services more accessible, affordable, and inclusive through technology and innovation,” he added.
The Philippines has increasingly become a regional case study for digital finance transformation. Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that digital payments now account for more than 57 percent of retail payment transactions by volume, while over half of the country’s adult population has gained access to formal financial services.
RCBC has played a significant role in this transformation through its digital banking and financial inclusion initiatives, including RCBC Pulz, RCBC DiskarTech, and RCBC ATM Go. These platforms continue to bridge financial access gaps by delivering innovative banking services to both urban centers and underserved communities nationwide.
As regional banking institutions seek strategies to drive inclusive growth in the digital age, the Philippines—and RCBC in particular—is increasingly emerging as a valuable source of fintech and financial inclusion expertise for the Asia-Pacific region.