Fintech devt seen to aid PHL on course to ‘hyper growth’
THE Philippines is on the cusp of a “hyper growth course” despite the pandemic and the development of financial technology (fintech) will help fuel this trajectory, a ranking official of payments gateway startup Xendit Philippines Inc. said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Businessmirror’s latest online segment called “Freshly Brewed,” Xendit Philippines Managing Director Yang Yang Zhang said the Indonesian startup (PT Sinar Digital Terdepan) sees a huge opportunity in the Philippines, as the pandemic forced digital transformation to go at an accelerated pace in terms of adoption.
“There’s so much potential in the market today. It feels like it’s on the edge of hyper growth. If you look at Indonesia four or five years ago, it is truly where the Philippines is today,” Zhang said. “There’s so much potential even with the pandemic—businesses are starting to digitize.”
As digital transformation happens at different levels for many businesses, Zhang said the group has also observed the digitalization of banks and financial institutions.
Combined, she said, these are the ingredients of a potential hyper growth scenario for the Philippines.
“I feel all the right ingredients are in place for this hyper growth course and we really want to be there as part of that growth and also to make that growth even faster,” Zhang said.
Proof of this is Xendit’s growth trajectory over the course of its first year in the Philippines. Zhang said the group “managed to grow significantly on average about 40 to 50 percent month-on-month.”
“We will continue to grow in this market as years go on,” she said. “We are here for the long haul.”
Xendit, she noted, adopted as hyperlocalization as a strategy.
“For us, we understand that payments are so specific. E-wallets that are so significant in Indonesia are not the ones that are significant in the Philippines. What we care about is building deep into this market,” she said.
Xendit intends to partner with more financial institutions to build more products that will cater to businesses of all sizes—from micro entrepreneurs to big corporations.
“For us, we want to make sure as the Philippines grows, we build that backbone that really helps financial institutions reach everyone across the Philippines and make our products as easy to use as possible,” she said.