Conversations on finances and credit are still not as common as you’d think, but this is something TransUnion hopes to change by increasing financial inclusion and awareness where it matters most
From the moment we save our first handful of coins, to thinking about what to do with our first 13th month pay, money thoughts and considerations are inescapable, but that doesn’t mean we understand it as much as we should. Despite the sensitive nature of the topic, conversations on finances built on knowledge and understanding can be liberating—opening new opportunities in life. One company leading this is financial services and insights agency TransUnion Philippines and its CEO, Pia Arellano. She leads as a woman devoted to improving the lives of Filipinos in a sector closely tied to financial insights and access to credit. She’s also no stranger to the field, carrying 27 years of valuable experience on how to build an industry founded on integrity and trust. Now, TransUnion hopes to continue to build and instill a reliable basis for trust between business and consumer in a financial sector that is increasingly digital and has been hit hard by the pandemic. Although the financial sector has evolved through these challenging times, new digital experiences are still emerging and safeguarding all involved is a key priority.
A look at today’s financial landscape
“Just the mere mention of the word ‘finance’ or ‘credit’ can already seem daunting to many Filipinos,” expressed Pia. This feeling might be something you’re familiar with, especially if you’ve been raised to be extra-cautious about managing your money. Topics such as credit scores, loans, or even mere trips to the bank or advisors become immediate headaches for those early in their adult lives. “In terms of credit literacy, the Philippines is very much behind some others in the region—over 51 million adult Filipinos still don’t have access to credit or banking accounts. Filipinos, in general, have a very limited and even negative view of what ‘credit’ actually is,” she added. During the pandemic, we all had to adapt to a new financial landscape.
“The financial services industry has moved on from viewing digital channels and digital transformation as a ‘nice-to-have’ platform to a ‘must-have.’ Financial services have historically relied on very traditional processes… However, during pandemic times, digital channels have been given priority so banks and wider credit providers can continue to serve consumers during lockdown and other social distancing measures.”
Pia Arellano on how the financial industry has changed over the past two years
It’s a lot harder to imagine how it must have been managing assets before the tech support and data aggregation commonplace today. As Pia mentioned: “Ten years ago, TransUnion didn’t exist in the Philippines, so it was very difficult for lenders to have a comprehensive view of a customer’s creditworthiness when evaluating their applications for loans and other financial services. Equally, it wasn’t always easy to check if an online application was genuine and that it wasn’t someone trying to commit fraud.” Now, TransUnion is helping deliver greater financial inclusion in the country by enabling trust between businesses and consumers—bridging that gap between businesses who want to increase their customer acquisitions, and customers who demand increasingly easier, faster, and safer transactions.
More than just a buzzword
“TransUnion is rooted on two things: trust and insights. Our organization strives to make trust possible through empowering information that enables our partners to make better decisions, and ultimately allow them to do and achieve great things,” Pia expounded when asked about the most vital aspects of the company.
For some, the ease and convenience of today’s digital landscape has made them take things for granted, with the seamless nature of online platforms making even the most stressful of tasks feel nonchalant. There’s a level of trust there that, according to Pia, can be the crux of today’s trends. “The convenience of digital has made it the preferred choice for transacting with businesses and managing finances. But with this convenience comes pitfalls. Fraud has risen in various industries as a result of this jump into digital since the pandemic began, and it is something that must be closely monitored so that businesses and consumers alike can be protected from fraudsters.”
This isn’t just speculative—we’ve already seen how digital transactions can cause nationwide concern and outrage. TransUnion has a critical role in promoting nation-building, and this begins by tackling Filipino-specific concerns. Historically, achieving financial inclusion and credit literacy has been a challenge for the Philippines. Thankfully, as Pia eagerly shared to me, TransUnion has a few services up their sleeves to help mitigate this situation.
“We have developed our Digital Onboarding solution which makes the customer experience for online loan applications faster, easier, and even more convenient while still managing the risk of online fraud… It allows customers to complete their applications in one sitting while protecting them from fraud at the same time with our identity verification solutions,” Pia shared. “We [also] provide the data insights and solutions that allow businesses to know more about their consumers. In a nutshell, we collect information… and combine [them] in a credit report that gives businesses a view of a consumer’s creditworthiness so that they can make decisions on approvals,” she added.
TransUnion has also established partnerships with the Rural Bankers’ Association of the Philippines and with 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines (1CISP) and its partner TraXion Tech to extend solutions to cooperatives in underserved and underbanked areas in the country. This gives rural banks access to TransUnion’s data and solutions to upscale businesses whilst also helping more consumers.
The end-goal: give consumers the freedom and the confidence to transact digitally and empower businesses, which in turn drives the industry forward.
“Moving forward is the only direction to go, and TransUnion has the technology, skills, and expertise to empower our partners to achieve great things so that consumers can transact confidently.”
Pia Arellano on the direction of TransUnion
Trust in this future
Managing your today can help secure your tomorrow—why wait? Having customers take charge of their financial futures is something that impacts every Filipino, no matter where their aspirations lie. “Credit literacy and financial inclusion isn’t just about understanding credit, it’s also about understanding the power that one holds in accessing the opportunities that are actually attainable in a very real sense,” Pia encouraged.
TransUnion acknowledges the daunting challenge it faces. It takes a village to drive such ambitious goals and advocacies, but every part is vital in making these changes and these ideas into a reality. That is why their services have been a key driver for growth and financial inclusion not just in the Philippines, but in markets all over the world since its establishment in Chicago back in the 1960s.
If conversations on cryptocurrency and NFTs have taken over mainstream media, and interest to enter those markets have increased over the past year, why can’t conversations on finances and credit scores do the same? Pia concluded our correspondence with a hopeful outlook on a future where this can be a reality. “At the end of the day, it is about creating a nation of well-informed citizens confident enough to make sound financial decisions… We recognize that they have the power to shape the nation, and TransUnion enables that through reliable information. Our role is to provide information to both consumers and institutions that will ultimately create a more streamlined, and ideally, less intimidating process. Our vision is that through this, we can create a Philippines that is more financially inclusive and confident.”
