Cooperatives urged to ‘future proof’ by embracing technology

DIGITAL transformation is encouraged among cooperatives, which represent 10.7 million Filipino families nationwide, to “future proof” and ensure their relevance amid the emergence of advanced technologies in the finance sector like mobile wallets and online banking system.

“Cooperative insurance should be part of our modernization plan,” Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Assistant Secretary Abad “Buddy” L. Santos said during the first-ever National Cooperative Business Congress (NCBC) held recently at the Novaliches Development Cooperative Convention Center in Quezon City.

He made this appeal to public utility vehicle modernization and transport co-operatives that have difficulties adapting such trends due to limited access to financial assistance.

Sharing the same sentiment with him was Traxion Chief Executive Officer Ann Cuisia, founder and creator of digicoop, who pushed them to embrace digitalization and modern tools, such as open finance technology, that make it “easier for cooperatives to apply for loans and adapt to government mandates towards modernization much faster.”

Cda-registered digicoop provides a complete virtual platform for cooperatives, which includes an online payment gateway; a marketplace, which serves both members and non-members; e-learning; and credit scoring, among others.

The company, in its first year of operations, has already onboarded the top 140 co-op leaders and integrated over 426 brick-andmortar co-op branches into its web channel.

“Currently, the rigid requirements being imposed upon our cooperatives through the traditional financial system are hampering the growth of this grassroots sector. We are aiming to change all that with digicoop which makes the co-ops’ transition to online virtually seamless,” she said.

Recently, the firm introduced the Cooperation Network Teller Machine, the first Qr-code-enabled of its kind that links cooperatives and rural banks to the traditional bank network, as well as to remittance centers and e-wallet providers.

“With the CTM, we are filling the gap in the traditional banking financial system to reach the underserved. Together with digicoop’s own mobile payment app and a core banking system specially designed for co-ops, we are bridging the digital divide, one coop at a time,” said Cuisia.