As employee turnover reaches critical levels across the Philippine BPO industry—now recording the highest attrition rates in Southeast Asia—leading employers are rethinking how they attract, support, and retain their people. Increasingly, the answer is financial wellness.
In a clear signal of this shift, Tendo by Tonik has expanded its footprint among the country’s biggest BPO players, forging new partnerships with global customer experience giants Foundever and iQor.
“Financial wellness is no longer a ‘nice to have,’” said Tendo CEO Mike Singh. “It’s a fundamental part of what modern employees expect from their employer. The decisions by Foundever and iQor reflect a broader shift in the BPO industry toward scalable, digital-first solutions that can measurably improve employee resilience.”
These latest signings build on Tendo’s existing relationships with Concentrix, the Philippines’ largest private employer, and Sutherland, cementing its position as the most widely adopted financial wellness platform for employers nationwide.
Today, Tendo serves nearly one million customers across the BPO and manufacturing sectors, offering a single, fully digital platform that integrates salary-linked loans, high-yield savings, free insurance, and financial education.
The goal is simple but increasingly urgent: reduce financial stress, strengthen resilience, and help employees build long-term stability—without disrupting their daily work lives.
The timing is no coincidence. Shift-based industries are facing heightened workforce volatility, and while financial stress is often invisible, its impact is not. Employers are seeing its effects in disengagement, absenteeism, and early exits. In response, financial wellness is no longer being treated as a fringe benefit, but as a core layer of employee infrastructure, alongside healthcare and career development.
That shift is becoming increasingly visible among large employers competing for the same talent pool. According to Tendo Vice President for Sales Mark Macalintal, partnerships with many of the country’s top BPOs reveal a clear divide emerging in the market.
Organizations that act early, he noted, are positioning themselves to attract and retain talent more effectively, while those that delay may struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving employee expectations.
For Foundever Philippines, the partnership fits squarely into its broader people strategy. Jennifer Vargas, HR Director at Foundever Philippines, said the collaboration strengthens the company’s commitment to holistic employee wellbeing. By working with Tendo, Foundever is able to deliver financial wellness programs directly to its workforce, leveraging the platform’s expertise to guide employees toward healthier and more sustainable financial habits throughout different stages of their careers.
At iQor, the impact was felt almost immediately. Jude Mosquito, Philippines Benefits Lead at iQor, shared that the partnership has already resonated strongly with employees, citing Tendo’s accessibility, openness to feedback, and hands-on engagement.
He described the collaboration as a natural fit, noting that the energy and responsiveness of the Tendo team matched the quality of service delivered to iQor’s workforce, laying the foundation for a long-term partnership.
Much of Tendo’s credibility in the sector, however, comes from its long-standing partnership with Sutherland, which has become a benchmark for measurable impact. Internally branded as the Sutherland eWallet, the program has evolved into a central part of the company’s employee experience. Grace Opiala, Director of Total Rewards at Sutherland, recalled that employee response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive upon launch.
With financial support accessible directly through the platform, employees no longer needed to look outside the company—or turn to informal or high-interest lenders—for assistance.
Over time, the offering expanded beyond lending. Savings tools, rewards, and free financial education webinars became integral to the experience, reinforcing a sense of holistic support rather than short-term relief. The benefit is now embedded into Sutherland’s onboarding and hiring strategy and consistently ranks as a highlight in employee satisfaction surveys.
From an operational standpoint, the results have been hard to ignore. Bernice Garcia, Associate Vice President for HR at Sutherland, pointed to rising net promoter scores, lower attrition, and improved productivity following Tendo’s rollout. Within six months, more than 70 percent of employees were actively using the platform, while over half of new hires were coming in through employee referrals—driven in large part by satisfaction with the financial wellness benefit.
According to Garcia, it has become the most talked-about benefit across the organization, widely recognized and consistently used.
Before Tendo, employees often turned to the company itself for financial assistance. Now, Garcia said, they have a trusted partner that puts control directly in their hands. By helping employees avoid payday lenders and manage their finances more confidently, the platform has reduced stress and strengthened overall wellbeing, reinforcing trust between employer and workforce.
As awareness grows around financial stress as a systemic business risk rather than a purely personal issue, Tendo is emerging as a new standard for workplace wellness at scale.
With rapid B2B expansion, deep integration into employer ecosystems, and 100 percent client retention to date, its model is increasingly viewed as proof that financial wellness—when done right—can deliver measurable returns for both employees and organizations.