Lito Villanueva: 菲律宾金融科技政策与普惠金融实践 | 互联网金融

　　文/《清华金融评论》资深编辑王蕾

　　金融科技在全球范围内爆炸式增长，尤其是中国金融科技行业实现了引领型发展，备受世界各国瞩目。随着国内市场的逐渐饱和、竞争的加剧和监管的趋严，不少金融科技企业开始抢占菲律宾等新兴市场的市场份额，看好其目前银行服务渗透率较低的市场前景、不断扩大的互联网和智能手机用户数量，与其鼓励金融科技发展的法规政策环境等。对于进入菲律宾市场的金融科技企业而言，首先关注的当属金融科技监管政策是否稳定可持续。对此，《清华金融评论》专访了菲律宾金融科技协会会长、菲律宾RCBC银行首席创新官Lito Villanueva先生，Lito Villanueva是菲律宾数字转型领域和普惠金融领域的专家，在银行、电信、支付、发展金融、金融技术和新兴法规方面拥有20多年的工作经验。Lito Villanueva也是Yuchengco Group 公司的首席数字化转型顾问。

　　THFR: Is FinTechregulatory policy in the Philippines sustainable and stable in the long run?Can you please introduce the regulatory policy in the Philippines?

　　《评论》：菲律宾金融科技发展迅速，有个重要方面是得益于其支持性的监管政策。那么长期来看，菲律宾的金融科技监管政策是否是可持续的？是不是稳定？您能否简要介绍一下菲律宾的相关监管政策和行业发展现状？

　　Lito Villanueva：TheFinTech landscape in the Philippines is very promising. The enabling regulatoryframework has been put in place to encourage more players to come into thecountry, and welcome more FinTech companies to help create a robust digitaleconomy. A number of circulars or regulations have been crafted and released tofurther support and promote the FinTech industry. In fact, the regulatorsintroduced the “test and learn” approach or the “regulatorysandbox,”where they would allow innovations tothrive, and allow practically all players to be able to innovate and come upwith disruptive initiatives to build a digital economy in the country. The mainintent is to drive and accelerate financial inclusion in the country.

　　Almost 70 percent ofthe population In the Philippines remain unbanked or underserved. A typicalbank in the Philippines would not be able to solve or be able to serveeverybody. We have more than 7,100 islands in the country. And we have verylimited bank branch network nationwide. In fact, there are still about 35% ofmunicipalities in the Philippines that still do not have any bank branches. So,the only way to be able to provide financial services to the people would bethrough the mobile device. Given that there are over 107 million Filipinos inpopulation and we have practically over 100% penetration rate in terms ofmobile device, the only way to service them or to reach the unbanked would bethrough these mobile devices.

　　Lito Villanueva：我认为菲律宾的金融科技前景非常光明，因为整体扶持性监管框架鼓励更多的参与者进入菲律宾市场，欢迎更多的金融科技企业来共建稳健的数字经济生态。为了进一步支持和促进金融科技产业的发展，政府相关部门和监管层已经制定并颁布了相关通知和条例。事实上，监管机构也推出了“测试和学习”项目或“监管沙箱”，沙箱里允许各类创新勇争潮头，也允许几乎所有参与者竞相进行颠覆性的创新举措，以帮助菲律宾进行数字经济的进一步建设。

　　政府推出这些举措的主要目标就是驱动普惠金融的发展。因为在菲律宾，还是有很大一部分人口是没有银行账户、或是没有存款的，大约占总人口的70%，传统银行无法服务到每一位菲律宾人民。我们国家大约有7100多座岛屿，但银行分支网点却十分有限，约35%的城市没有任何银行分支机构。因此，向这些地区的人们提供金融服务的唯一途径就是通过移动设备。菲律宾有着1.07亿人口，移动设备渗透率几乎超过了100%，因此向民众或无银行账户人群提供服务的唯一方式就是通过手机。

　　THFR: What arethe entry requirements and barriers for foreign FinTech companies in thePhilippine market?

　　《评论》：外国金融科技公司想要进入菲律宾市场，需要满足什么准入条件或门槛呢？

　　Lito Villanueva：ThePhilippines welcomes foreign FinTech companies. In fact, a huge number of themare already operating in the country. We have also seen major investments intolocal players such as Tencent and Alibaba partnering with VoyagerInnovations/PayMaya and Mynt/GCash, respectively. FinTech’s success relies onits seamless integration with the local legal landscape.

　　All interestedentities who want to do business in the Philippines have to be registered withthe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Depending on the type ofregulated financial activity, e.g. lending, payments, insurance, investment,etc, the interested foreign FinTech company has to register with supervisingauthorities contemplated under Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money LaunderingAct with Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations. These include the BankgoSentral ng Pilipinas, SEC, and Insurance Commission.

　　One of the majorregulatory issues that should be emphasized is the prohibition on peer-to-peerlending. In a platform matching individual borrowers with individual lenders,the latter will be offering to the public lending services. As such, they willbe engaged in the lending activities described in the Lending Act, and engagingin the business of a lending company. They are thus considered lendinginvestors, as they will be granting loans to borrowers in the course ofbusiness. Unless the individual lenders have such licenses, they are prohibitedfrom engaging in this lending activity.

　　Under the law, alending company is a corporation engaged in granting loans from its own capitalfunds or from funds sourced from not more than 19 persons. It shall not bedeemed to include banking institutions, investment houses, savings and loansassociations, financing companies, pawnshops, insurance companies,cooperatives, and other credit institutions already regulated by law. The termis synonymous with lending investors.

　　Being a lendingcompany, the company is required to have a minimum capitalization of PHP 1million, and majority of its stockholders must be Filipino citizens. It mustalso comply with the Truth in Lending Act which requires that the borrowersshould be furnished a statement with information on the amount of the principalloan, rate of interest, amortization schedule, and penalty charges, amongothers.

　　If the lendingplatform sources its funds from more than 19 lenders, it may be deemed as a“quasi bank.” Quasi bank refers to a non-bank financial institution authorizedby the BSP to engage in quasi-banking functions and to borrow funds from morethan 19 lenders through the issuance, endorsement or assignment with recourseor acceptance of deposit substitutes as defined in Section 95 of Republic Act7653 or the New Central Bank Act for purposes of relending or purchasing ofreceivables and other obligations.

　　Lito Villanueva：菲律宾很欢迎国外金融科技企业。实际上很多企业已经入驻了菲律宾进行投资。比如腾讯和阿里巴巴分别和本土企业菲律宾电信和数字服务提供商PLDT的数字服务部门Voyager Innovations/在线支付电子钱包PayMaya 和菲律宾电信运营商Globe Telecom旗下的金融科技公司Mynt/菲律宾电信公司Globe旗下小额支付系统GCash进行合作。

　　金融科技的成功必须依赖于其与当地法律体系的无缝融合。所有有意在菲律宾开展业务的实体必须在菲律宾证券交易委员会（SEC）注册。根据受监管的金融活动的类型，如借贷、支付、保险、投资等，有兴趣的外国金融科技公司必须向符合菲律宾《2001年反洗钱法》(第9160号共和国法案)或者《反洗钱法》及其修订后的实施细则和条例规定的监管部门提出备案申请，其中包括菲律宾中央银行、菲律宾证监会以及菲律宾保险委员会。

　　备受关注的监管规则是P2P在菲律宾是否被禁止。一个对接个人（借款者）与个人（贷款者）之间信贷的平台上，贷款者是为公众提供贷款服务的一方，从事《借贷法》中定义的贷款行为，做的是贷款公司的业务。因此，他们被视为贷款投资者，在服务借款者的过程中发放贷款。因此，除非个人贷款者有相关牌照，负责他们被禁止从事贷款活动。

　　根据该法，一家贷款公司是以其自有资本金或不多于19人的资金来源从事发放贷款服务的公司。它不应被视为等同于包括银行也机构、投资机构、储蓄贷款协会、金融哦你股公司、典当行、保险公司、合作社和其他法律明确的信贷机构。这个规定适用于贷款投资者。

　　作为一家贷款公司，最低资本要求是100万菲律宾比索，其大多数股东必须是菲律宾公民。它还必须遵守《贷款真实性法案》，该法案要求贷款者必须要向借款者提供一份关于贷款金额、利率、还款计划以及延迟还款的惩罚性措施等等的信息报表。

　　如果借贷平台的资金来源超过19位贷款人/法人，则可被视为“准银行”，是指需要菲律宾央行授权从事准银行业务并通过筹集借款、有追索权的背书或转让，或接受存款替代品等共和国7653号法案第95条或新的中央银行法中定义的目的用于重新发放或购买应收账款和其他债务的方式，从多于19贷款人筹措资金的非银行金融机构。

　　THFR: Which kindof FinTech companies are more preferred and welcomed in the Philippines market？

　　《评论》：在菲律宾市场中，哪种类型的金融科技公司更受欢迎、更受青睐呢？

　　Lito Villanueva：Well,there are several types of FinTech players in the industry. So you have FinTechcompanies that are into payments, insurance, lending, investments, that areinto big data and transportation and so on. A lot of them. So different typesof business, but practically using technology as their platform. Sopractically, everybody who has innovative way of serving the public is verymuch welcome in the Philippines.

　　Lito Villanueva：金融科技企业有几种类型，分别涉足支付、保险、贷款、投资、大数据和运输等等领域，都是不同类型的业务。这些领域的企业都在使用金融科技技术搭建其平台，所以实际上在菲律宾，每一个运用创新的方式为公众提供金融服务的企业都是十分受欢迎的。

　　THFR: How do yousee the development of FinTech in China? What is your suggestion for thecooperation between China and the Philippines?

　　《评论》：您如何看待金融科技在中国市场的发展？对于中国与菲律宾之间的金融科技合作，您有何看法？

　　Lito Villanueva：Theforeign relations of both countries, the Philippines and China have improveddramatically. We have seen a very positive development. And in fact, we haveseen a number of China-based companies going to the Philippines, investing inthe country and trying to start and expand their businesses in the country.There has been a massive entry of Chinese individuals or Chinese companies intothe Philippines now working on various initiatives. I could see that thisdevelopment will further grow exponentially.

　　Lito Villanueva：菲律宾和中国两国的外交关系都已经有了显著的、非常积极的改善和加深。我们已经看到，大量中国公司前往菲律宾进行投资，试图在菲开展和扩大其业务。这种发展仍将进一步成倍地增长，因为中国个人或公司在菲律宾开展金融科技业务已经处于蓬勃发展的状态。

　　THFR: Could youshare some experience of RCBC bank in inclusive digital finance?

　　《评论》：您能否分享一些菲律宾中华银行在普惠数字金融方面的一些经验？

　　Lito Villanueva：RCBChas embraced digital transformation. RCBC is now at the forefront of digitaldisruption and is now a leading player in terms of pushing for inclusivedigital banking in the Philippines. RCBC is very aggressive in terms ofexpanding its reach through the mobile device and being able to provide digitalbanking services outside their branches—transformation from bricks to clicks.In the current digital landscape, it is no longer about buildingbrick-and-mortar branches but on how you could provide a delightful customerexperience through the mobile device..

　　Lito Villanueva：菲律宾中华银行(RCBC)积极拥抱数字化转型，是数字化转型的领头羊，也是推动菲律宾普惠数字银行发展的领军者之一。菲律宾中华银行在通过移动设备拓展其业务范围方面非常积极，并且能够不受银行网点限制提供数字银行服务——实现了由实体到虚拟的改革。在当前的数字环境之中，不再需要建设实体分支网点，而是你通过客户自己的手机终端如何提供愉快的、满意度高的客户体验。

　　THFR: What’s thelevel of interest of players to accelerate financial inclusion in thePhilippines?

　　《评论》：在菲律宾，大家对普惠金融的兴趣如何？

　　Lito Villaneva：Thereare several players in the industry working together to really acceleratefinancial inclusion, on how we can bring everybody to an inclusive digitaleconomy. So RCBC is one of the leading players. In terms of level of interests, of course I would say 100% in pushing itforward. And we are investing heavily on technologies or platforms tomake it happen. This is the very concept of Open Banking. And we will becovering the entire Philippines using all these platforms. Of course, itdoesn’t have to be us developing the platforms, but we could actually do it byway of collaboration through Open Banking. We could partner with third partyproviders to help us expand the business.

　　Lito Villanueva：这个行业中有多家参与者在共同努力，以加快普惠金融发展，以让所有人都可以在普惠数字经济环境之中。菲律宾中华银行(RCBC)是主要参与者之一。当然也是100%感兴趣。我们正投入大量资金来引入技术和完善平台，这正是开放银行的概念，我们将使用各类这样的平台来实现菲律宾市场的全覆盖。当然，平台开发不一定全是我们负责，但我们可以通过协作来实现开放银行，可以通过与拥有这些平台的第三方供应商合作，来帮助我们扩大业务范围。

　　THFR: And how tocontrol the NPL ration?

　　《评论》：你们如何控制不良贷款率？

　　Lito Villanueva：Inthe FinTech world, one of the things that we are trying to address is how toreduce the non-performing loans. From double digit to low single digit. But forthe banks, in fact, the non-performing loans would be very minimal, among thelowest in the region. That’s why if we are to expand the lending operations topractically everybody in the Philippines, we just have to manage the risks byway of having an intelligent and robust decision tool or platform. Because ofavailable technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, etc,you can now provide alternative credit scoring algorithm without depending onthe traditional way of doing the credit scores. Because the legacy way of doingcredit scoring will really take so much time and is really to limited to thebanked segment. So what you want is consumer centric experience, where thecustomer will be able to get the response or approval or denial of theapplications very quickly. So what you want is really an instant response, adecision whether you’re approve or disapprove. That’s the experience that wewant. Every customer wants to have a quick, reliable and awesome experience.

　　Lito Villanueva：在金融科技领域，我们正在努力解决的问题之一就是如何减少不良贷款，（将不良贷款）从两位数减到个位数。但对于银行来说，不良贷款只有个位数，非常少，是最低的。这就是我们要将贷款业务拓展到菲律宾每个人的原因，我们只需要通过一个智能且稳健的的决策工具或平台来管理好风险。由于可用的技术，如人工智能、机器学习等等的使用，可以提供替代性的信用评分算法，而不依赖于传统方式的信用评分。传统的信用评分方式过于耗时，且仅限于银行部分。因此要以客户为中心，客户申请被接受或拒绝就需要得到最快的及时相应，因此金融服务商需要提供快速、可靠的及时相应来让客户感到愉悦体验。

　　THFR: How to dorisk management using FinTech?

　　《评论》：如何利用金融科技进行风险管理?

　　Lito Villanueva：Infact, as I said, we are working with third party providers who have platformson credit scoring algorithm, meaning this would be an alternative option toscore, especially for new to credit individuals. Through these alternativealgorithms, we will be able to determine the behavior of the customer when itcomes to how many times that he used a phone, how long does he use it, and ifit is prepaid, how often does he top it up, how much is the top up, and what isthe frequency of calls being made. So that calling behavior would be a proxy oran alternative way of determining whether that customer is active, and whetherhe has money or has resources. Because if he is using his phones more often, itmeans that he is very active. He has money to spend for his phone, and has timeto talk to people, chat and interact through social media. So that is one wayof addressing the risk or reducing the risk in the FinTech way for the banks toadopt. But you see, new to credit individuals are customers that do not haveany credit profile or credit history. It would be very difficult for you toprocess the loan application it because there is no basis at all. But in theFinTech world, because of these tools or platforms, you can actually provide ascore. So that is one way of risk mitigation.

　　LitoVillanueva：如我所说，我们正在与拥有信用评分算法平台的第三方供应商合作，为我们的信用评分提供备选方式，特别是新的信用客户。通过这些可选择的算法，我们可以确定客户使用手机的次数、使用时间，以及预付费用户充值的频率、金额和打电话的频率等。这些手机行为将是确定该客户是否活跃、富裕程度以及资源丰寡的重要参考。因为如果他经常使用手机，这意味着他非常活跃，他会在手机上花很多钱，并且有时间通过社交媒体与他人通话聊天。因此，这是以金融科技的方式管理和降低风险的一种方式，可供银行采用。新的信用个人是没有任何信用档案和记录的客户，很难去为其处理贷款申请，因为根本没有评判风险的基础。但是在金融科技领域，这些工具或者平台提供的分数，可以是有效降低风险的办法。

　　本文编辑：王蕾，本文翻译：程丹阳、王蕾。以防翻译或有所误差，建议读者阅读英文部分。