Maya Bank President and CEO Angelo Madrid (center), with Tala Director for External Affairs Atty. Arianne Ferrer (left) and G-Xchange Chief Operating Officer Barbie Dapul, speaking at the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026.
ASEAN’s next phase of financial inclusion will depend not only on bringing more people into the financial system, but also on strengthening the digital infrastructure, policies and market conditions that keep financial services accessible, trusted and sustainable.
Speaking at the recent ASEAN Tech Summit Manila, Maya Bank President and CEO Angelo Madrid said the region has made significant progress in digital payments, financial services and account access. The next challenge is turning that access into measurable improvements in people’s financial lives.
“Access is necessary, but an opened account or downloaded app is not yet a financial outcome,” Madrid said. “Real progress is when people can transact reliably, save regularly, borrow responsibly and become more resilient to financial shocks.”
Madrid joined the Futurecast panel, “Building Sustainable and Inclusive Financial Services Ecosystems in ASEAN,” which examined how technology, regulation, infrastructure and business models can support the region’s digital-finance growth.
Digital infrastructure can accelerate inclusion
Madrid said governments and shared infrastructure providers can help strengthen financial inclusion by investing in capabilities that benefit the broader ecosystem.
These include digital identity, payment and settlement infrastructure, real-time fraud intelligence, trusted data-sharing standards and reliable connectivity.
Stronger shared infrastructure can reduce friction and system-wide costs while allowing financial service providers to focus on developing products and services.
“Strong shared infrastructure creates a foundation on which providers can compete more effectively on price, service, reach and innovation,” Madrid said.
Digital identity, for example, could streamline customer onboarding and help reduce fraud when systems are trusted, reusable, privacy-protecting and interoperable.
Madrid also pointed to Open Finance as a potential driver of greater customer choice, provided consumers maintain control over their data and clear standards govern consent, security, liability and data portability.
Affordability must be matched with trust
Madrid said affordability remains essential to financial inclusion, but it needs to be considered alongside transparency, reliability, security and consumer choice.
Digital financial services require ongoing investments in cybersecurity, fraud prevention, settlement and reconciliation, customer support, system resilience, regulatory compliance and product development.
“Consumers should have access to affordable and transparent services, but affordability does not mean every provider must arrive at the same price,” Madrid said.
He added that providers operate under different licenses, business models and cost structures, making competition and innovation important to improving value for consumers.
Regulation needs to support innovation
Madrid also called for clear, proportionate and predictable regulation to sustain investment in ASEAN’s digital financial services sector.
While financial institutions operate under different licenses, permitted activities, balance-sheet obligations and prudential requirements, Madrid said common consumer-protection principles can coexist with room for providers to compete according to their respective strengths.
“A progressive regulatory environment sets strong standards and clear outcomes, then gives institutions room to innovate and compete within those guardrails,” he said.
For ASEAN, Madrid said the long-term opportunity is to strengthen the region’s shared digital foundation while preserving the diversity of financial institutions and business models that have helped expand access.
“Payments and financial services are already becoming more connected across ASEAN,” Madrid said. “The next step is making sure trust, identity, data, and consumer protection can move with them.”
