SEA warms up to open banking slowly but surely

In The Top Up this week, we look at the Philippines’ Open Finance pilot and what that means for the future of open banking in the region. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Melissa Goh Fintech Journalist Hello {NAME} It’s easy to take modern-day conveniences for granted. Students going to school overseas used to have to bring stacks of cash with them; now, they can use remittance apps for cross-border money transfers. Signing up for a bank account used to involve form-filling and had to be done in person; these days, a customer in Singapore barely has to key in any personal data as it can be automatically pulled from a central database called [SGFindex]( that leverages SingPass, the city-state’s national identity system. Few can explain what “open banking” entails but many of us have experienced it at some point. Being able to top up an e-wallet using funds in your bank account instead of having to do so with a credit card, for instance, is possible because of [APIs]( that integrate the e-wallet’s and bank’s respective software. Southeast Asia continues to lag behind the West in open banking in terms of regulation, digital infrastructure, and awareness. But that is slowly changing, with countries like the Philippines starting to introduce frameworks to the space. I explain the merits of open banking, why big banks have reason to resist such changes, and more in this week’s Hot Take. -- Melissa  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE Unlocking the gates to open banking https:///www.techinasia.com/sea-catch-open-banking-west When open banking regulations came into effect in the UK in 2018, it opened the floodgates to a range of new financial services. Years later, Southeast Asia is catching up. Last week, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ central bank, [invited]( BSP-supervised financial institutions and third-party providers to participate in a standards consultation for the Philippine Open Finance pilot. With the pilot, which will explore the use of APIs in the delivery of financial products and services that are responsive to customer needs, the Philippines joins countries like Singapore and Indonesia, which have launched their own frameworks to encourage the adoption of open banking. While that’s a step in the right direction, it seems the region has a long way to go. [Read the full story.]( – Melissa  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the fintech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Ant-Backed Paytm soars after India banned Chinese rivals]( The Indian government had reportedly blocked 94 lending apps and 138 betting apps with links to China. 2️⃣ [Founders’ dispute: Court finds Incomlend co-founder breached shareholders’ deed]( Laurence Hook, one of the firm’s three co-founders, did not quit his existing job at HSBC or enter an employment agreement with Incomlend, even after multiple calls to do so. 3️⃣ [Pouch taps US-based Strike for cross-border payments in the Philippines]( The partnership uses the Lightning Network, a protocol built on top of the Bitcoin chain, to enable faster remittances from the US to the Philippines. 4️⃣ [PayMongo receives demand to investigate board chairman]( The complaint, filed on January 4 by an anonymous person claiming to be a PayMongo employee, is seeking an investigation into instances of inappropriate behavior by Luis Sia, the fintech firm’s co-founder and former chief commercial officer.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preferences center. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com. See you next week! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894