Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno urged the financial technology (FinTech) community to work with the government in inspiring confidence in the digital markets during the Fintech Alliance 2023 Ambassador’s Gala with the theme, “Creating What’s Next in Digital: Dare-Drive-Defy” from August 7 to 8, 2023 at the Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig.

“We must remember that in order for a digital economy to flourish, consumers need to have trust in the integrity and fairness of digital markets. By working with government and regulatory agencies in combating scams, fraud, and cybercrime, we give our consumers the confidence to engage and transact in the digital space,” Secretary Diokno said in a recorded keynote message.

Secretary Diokno said that the shift to digitalization is a priority of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s administration.

The President emphasized in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) the need to fully embrace digitalization in order to improve the delivery of public services, referring to it as the greatest, most powerful tool in combating graft and corruption.

“The Department of Finance and its attached agencies have made solid progress on this front, undertaking a comprehensive array of programs aimed at enabling digital finance to flourish,” Secretary Diokno said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has upgraded its Digital Transformation (DX) Program to strengthen and modernize the Bureau, as well as enhance its policies, governance, and standards to elevate taxpayer experience.

“In fact, 69 percent of total returns were filed electronically and we expect all large taxpayers to be able to file returns and pay taxes electronically by next year through electronic invoicing,” Secretary Diokno said.

With the support of the World Bank (WB), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is also undertaking the Philippine Customs Modernization Program (PCMP) to streamline operations by upgrading systems, procedures, and other activities.

On the other hand, the Philippine Identification System (Philsys) will transform how services are delivered and accessed by adopting the latest technology to enable presenceless, paperless and cashless transactions.

Converting at least half of total retail payments volume into digital form is the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s goal through the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap.

For the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s part, it launched a unified system to facilitate company registration processes from end to end, called the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Companies (eSPARC).

Meanwhile, the purchase of government securities has been made more convenient through the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr)’s Online Ordering Platform and the Overseas Filipino Bank’s app.

Therefore, the government has included digitalization as a vital component to achieving true economic and social transformation in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.

Furthermore, the government has launched the eGov PH app as a one-stop shop for all transactions between the government and citizens.

The government is also pushing for the passage of the E-Governance bill in the Congress which will allow for the adoption of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in government agencies.

“We are also working on broadening public access to information by observing open data formats, lowering barriers to internet connectivity, and boosting broadband access in the country,” Secretary Diokno said.

He also pointed out the need to equip the Philippines’ young and tech-savvy workforce with “technology training, worker upskilling and reskilling, as well as lifelong learning opportunities” in order to advance in the digital economy.

FinTech Alliance.ph is the country’s largest digital trade organization composed of startups and unicorns collectively generating over 90 percent of digital-initiated retail financial transactions in the country today.

The INDX (Inclusion and Digital Transformation) Summit is FinTech Alliance.ph’s annual flagship event that brings together industry leaders, practitioners, and government partners involved in digital transformation.

It was organized in cooperation with the BSP, SEC, Insurance Commission (IC), Credit Information Corporation (CIC), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLAC) Secretariat, Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Board of Investments (BOI), and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).