Author: Tom Noda

Bitcoin is real, while Ponzi scheme is fake. The former is an existing digital currency, while the latter phrase means a fraudulent investment activity that got its name from Charles Ponzi, an infamous swindler in the 20th century. The recent arrest of the Ordonio couple in the Philippines who allegedly amassed nearly P1 billion ($19 million) from over 100 people, promising them easy money through Bitcoin investment, is a classic description of a Ponzi scheme ― a get-rich-quick bogus investment deal. To shed light on the issues and share helpful information, Fintechnews Philippines interviewed Miguel Cuneta, a co-founder of Satoshi…

As mentioned in the other article that Bitcoin is real while Ponzi scheme is fake, one particular opposite reality of both worlds is Ponzi schemes flunk 100 per cent in their “get-rich-quick” promises. Now opening a Bitcoin wallet in the Philippines is really easy and quick, but it is no magic trick to get rich. There are now a few number of identified Bitcoin-based firms in the Philippines, but in this article, we’re only featuring Coins.ph and Satoshi Citadel Industries (SCI), two companies licensed by the central bank to conduct virtual currency (VC) exchange. Both Coins and SCI even gave…

Cashless and contactless transactions in the Philippines are definitely on the rise as mobile payment providers have gone into acceleration mode since October. They continue to tap giant retail groups engaged in various industries including neighborhood variety retail stores or “sari-sari stores” that are under the Micro-small and medium-enterprises (MSMEs) category that represent 99.57 per cent of business establishments in the country. Mobile payments in the archipelago, however, are dominated merely by the duopoly of telco firms PLDT and Globe Telecom. Both have been very active in partnering with retail businesses via their mobile commerce units PayMaya and GCash, respectively.…

Money transfer platform Coins.ph, and digital wallet company Tagcash are racing to launch a live “first Philippine-based” order-book exchange for cryptocurrency. The goal is to allow people to directly place orders to buy and sell digital currency at real-time market prices, just like investing in the traditional stock exchange. “There are no order book exchanges based in the Philippines,” said Tagcash Ltd founder Mark Vernon, during an interaction with Fintechnews.sg. Vernon however, said there are 15 applications waiting, which will probably go through the Philippine Association for Digital Commerce and Decentralised Industries (PADCDI) led by Mary Rose Magsaysay. It is…

Now seen by many as inevitable, the consolidation and cooperation between traditional banks and fintech players are becoming more frequent in the Philippines. No less than the Philippine central bank or Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has constantly been urging traditional banks to “keep pace” with financial technology affirming that fintech products stand to help broaden financial inclusion in the country. The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has in fact been working with its counterparts in the region like the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA), and The Association of Banks of Singapore (ABS) to come up with initiatives that will…

The cryptocurrency world has gained another giant celebrity endorsement with Filipino boxing legend Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao becoming an investor of a new cryptocurrency exchange GCOX. Pacquiao just took the same path of so-called “CryptoCelebs” that invested in cryptocurrencies for the past few years, like his controversial rival Floyd “Money” Mayweather, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, American rapper 50 Cent, movie actor Jamie Foxx, singer Katy Perry, among many others. Founded by media and production veteran Steve Askew, GCOX signed the Philippine senator and only eight-division world champion as its first celebrity. The company’s goal is to help celebrities create,…

Developments about fintech regulations in the Philippines seem to be working to the advantage of fintech companies who do ICOs. Unlike in China where ICOs were banned in the country’s capital markets last year, the conduct of ICO in the Philippines was welcomed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or central bank who are now working to come up with regulations for the protection of the investing public. SEC commissioner Emilio Aquino said they target to finalize regulations this year. BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., noted the Philippines already ranks third globally…

Once again, remittances from overseas Filipinos surpassed its year-on-year record, giving a wider horizon for financial technology (fintech). The Philippine central bank or Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced last Thursday, February 15, that cash remittances of overseas Filipinos increased 4.3 per cent to $28.06 billion, while personal remittances grew by 5.3 per cent to $31.29 billion, exceeding government target of 4 per cent. Personal remittances last year represented 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI), the BSP report added. This yearly growth on remittances is definitely keeping industry players…

A “new mode of collaboration” or “new business collaboration tool”. These are probably the most generic definitions given to blockchain, the technology behind the first decentralized cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Thanks to Harvard Business Review, and Computerworld for putting it into layman’s terms. This simply means blockchain is not limited to financial technology but applicable across a variety of industries. It is even viewed by many as the “new Web” or “new Internet”. In the Philippines, most firms who are taking the jump are fintech startups albeit local listed universal bank Unionbank of the Philippines recently became a partner of Visa to…