Digitalization boosts stock market trading

Ravelas sees that the technology calls for greater efficiency in the stock market trading and provides seamless and flawless transactions

A veteran financial analyst is encouraging Filipinos to take advantage of the digital space to obtain opportunities to engage in stock trading and investments.

In addition, Jonathan Ravelas, who recently joined e-Methods for Business Management Corp. as a consultant for financial services and strategy, advised policymakers to focus on teaching financial literacy to the underserved and unbanked Filipinos to achieve financial inclusion.

Citing the digital payments adopted by some financial institutions, Ravelas said investors are more encouraged to do equity tradings.

“I guess the trading floor closure always added a functional unification ever since, so I think the only difference now is that people can trade more freely because of technology — so it encourages more of the younger generation to try investing,” Ravelas, who guested in Daily Tribune’s Straight Talk online show, said Thursday.

Ravelas sees that the technology calls for greater efficiency in the stock market trading and provides seamless and flawless transactions.

“We have these such financial payments. These are payments happening — thanks to the likes of GCash, BDO, Paymaya (etc.) that people are more encouraged to do equities trading, and hopefully, we’re not just trading, but real investment,” he said.

Amid the pandemic, more people were encouraged to invest in bonds and stocks, while several institutions offered free financial literacy online.

The latest e-payments data of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the share of digital payments to total retail payments volume in the Philippines rose to 30.3 percent in 2021 from 20.1 percent in 2020.