Credit Information Corporation & ADVANCE.AI launch credit bureau in the Philippines

By Gloria Mathias

ADVANCE.AI, Southeast Asia’s provider of digital identity verification, KYC/KYB, has signed an agreement with the Credit Information Corporation (CIC) to become the newest credit bureau in the Philippines.

ADVANCE.AI is set to commence operations in the fourth quarter of 2024. The new credit bureau’s primary target audience is FinTechs, digital banks, thrift banks and digital banks. These entities are crucial in driving financial inclusion and innovation within the Philippine financial ecosystem.

The agreement was signed after the Philippines’ state-owned Credit Information Corporation (CIC) earlier this year granted ADVANCE.AI a Special Accessing Entity (SAE) licence after an open, month-long tender process initiated in September 2023.

During this process, the CIC Technical Working Group rigorously evaluated applicants’ submissions. The group assessed each applicant’s financial resources, technical expertise, and reputation to ensure they met the high standards required to operate as or form an SAE.

“We are looking forward to creating a more inclusive financial ecosystem to develop better credit reporting and credit scoring services, as well as increase competition and innovation for more diverse and robust credit data access to benefit both lenders and borrowers. It also aligns with our financial inclusion mandate—encouraging non-bank lenders to avail of services from our SAEs, as well as enabling MSMEs and individual borrowers’ direct access to their credit reports,” said CIC President and Chief Executive Officer Ben Joshua A. Baltazar.

ADVANCE.AI’s Philippine credit bureau business will be led by Dennis Martin, who has 25 years of experience in the credit reporting industry. Martin was previously the Group CEO of CTOS Digital and the managing director of Experian Southeast Asia.

“We are proud to have the support of CIC and play a pivotal role in advancing the credit information infrastructure in the Philippines. Having been established in the Philippines in 2019, ADVANCE.AI has a strong history of providing localised products and services tailored to the unique needs of the Philippine market. This new bureau underscores our commitment to serving the needs of fintechs, digital banks and the digital economy in enhancing more informed lending decisions and financial inclusion across the country,” said Martin.