AI for financial inclusion: CIBI partners with ADVANCE.AI

Aiming to leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for financial inclusion, Philippine credit bureau agency CIBI Information Inc. (CIBI) has signed a strategic partnership with Singapore-headquartered AI and big data company ADVANCE.AI.

“We’re truly excited by this partnership. Our mission has always been to boost financial services access and inclusion among unbanked and underbanked individuals and businesses in the Philippines. This partnership will pair ADVANCE.AI’s industry-leading AI and risk management solutions, including its identity verification and anti-fraud products, with our own data capabilities so we can grow our range and depth of credit reporting and information services in the country,” said CIBI President and CEO Marlo R. Cruz in a press statement.

AI and financial inclusion

CIBI was first set up in 1982 as the Credit Information Exchange System attached to the Central Bank of the Philippines, now the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Privatized in 1997, CIBI provides data, credit reporting, and information management services and analytics across consumers, business entities, and other institutions. Among its core products is the Credit Information Score report, which provides a detailed summary and scoring of borrowing and repayment activities for businesses and individuals. 

“CIBI’s local market expertise together with ADVANCE.AI’s  technology leadership and solutions will help innovate the digital onboarding, risk, and credit underwriting capabilities of the Philippines’ fintech sector. This is more important than ever in the current COVID landscape, as we help accelerate fintech development in the Philippines, and in so doing, help millions of Filipinos and businesses gain access to new financial products and services,” said ADVANCE.AI CEO Dong Shou.

ADVANCE.AI enjoyed strong growth in 2020, aided by the acceleration of digitalization of the banking and financial services sectors in key markets Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and India. The company’s products cover three major areas: AI (digital identity verification for KYC, intelligent process automation, chatbots), risk management (anti-fraud prevention, alternative credit scoring), and digital lending solutions.