Will more Filipinos embrace digital payments and learn to just Xendit? That’s the goal of the Indonesian financial technology startup, which today announced it is expanding its operations in the Philippines.

“While we see increasing demand for digital transactions, we understand that many businesses in the Philippines have not yet fully embraced the digitalization journey. Xendit is unique because we build deeply into each local market and culture, allowing us to work hand-in-hand with both traditional and startup businesses to innovate together along their digital transformation journey. This is especially important now, as so much of the Philippines continues to rely on transacting online for essential payments and purchases,” said Xendit Philippines Managing Director Yang Yang Zhang.

Digital transactions and data ethics

“These uncertain times have encouraged businesses across all sectors to look into adopting digital payment solutions like contactless transactions. Many are realizing that cashless payments are not just safer health-wise, but more convenient for both business owners and customers, especially those who are unbanked. Xendit’s fraud management tools ensure that even the most traditional businesses feel comfortable accepting payments online for the first time,” said Carlo Almendral, CEO of TARA!

TARA! is a newly launched contact tracing application that leverages Xendit’s xenpayments to enable Department of Tourism-accredited merchants to accept payments contactlessly through direct debit, credit cards, e-wallets, and retail outlets.

In response to a question from Digital Life Asia at today’s media briefing, Almendral acknowledged the almost automatic fear of Filipinos that technology will be abused and their rights violated by the government, because of the country’s history. For instance, the debate over the implementation of a national ID system.

“I started an organization here called Ethics.ph. I think part of it is that there’s no conversation in technology about ethics. Every single government ever, back to Genghis Khan’s times, as long as they had data about people, eventually they use it for the wrong thing. So I think there’s a responsibility there in making sure that there’s a way for people to see themselves that there’s the right to be forgotten and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). A lot of it is just about education and setting policies to understand that at some point, somebody we don’t want to have power is going to have power, and how much data do they need access to,” Almendral said.

The panelists agreed that the industry must push for interconnection and consolidation to make digital payments a reality for more Filipinos, but at the same time this should be balanced with the need to safeguard data privacy.

Financial inclusion

For instance, Jonathan Bates, Head of GrabPay Philippines, cited the impending rollout of a national ID system in the Philippines as an important step in enabling digital payments.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno has said the BSP is all set to produce the cards for the national ID system.

“The ID card is set to contain the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) number of each individual, his or her full name, facial image, sex, date of birth, blood type, and address.

“It will also contain biometric information such as iris scan, fingerprints, and photograph.

“‘The national ID system has been decades in the making. We look forward to bringing it to the Filipino people to promote financial inclusion and digitalization,’ Diokno said.”

“There is a growing trend toward digital payments and those who have embraced it cite that they enjoy the convenience, quick transaction time, and low processing fees. By working with Xendit to increase the accessibility of digital payments for our users, we can contribute to far-reaching financial inclusion, innovation, and competitive costs,” Bates said.

As previously reported, Diokno has said that the Philippine government’s goal is for 50% of retail payments to be digital by 2023.

“Xendit’s suite of services is designed to make payments simple, secure, and easy for customers while enabling businesses to grow exponentially. As a platform that’s deeply rooted in Southeast Asia, we keep our ear to the ground to better recognize the specific needs and wants of each business in the market,” said Xendit Group CEO and Founder Moses Lo.

Xendit is the first Indonesian startup to successfully graduate from the prestigious Y Combinator incubator in Silicon Valley. By expanding its operations in the Philippines, it aims to create a seamless payment infrastructure for the country and the rest of Southeast Asia.