{"id":186825,"date":"2018-10-24T04:35:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-24T08:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=186825"},"modified":"2018-10-24T04:35:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T08:35:02","slug":"cashalo-exec-cites-importance-of-financial-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/10\/24\/cashalo-exec-cites-importance-of-financial-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Cashalo exec cites importance of financial literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
He said that Cashalo, a Filipino technology and financial services firm, will have \u201ca very aggressive financial literacy for the months and years ahead.\u201d (File Photo<\/a>: Cashalo\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Several entities offering financial products have tapped financial technology or fintech to more efficiently cater to their target market, which is normally the underserved or the unbanked population.<\/p>\n

While this is a plus, especially to the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), this also gives some people ideas that easily fund their needs, no matter what.<\/p>\n

Cashalo general manager Hamilton Angluben said this is where financial literacy comes in.<\/p>\n

He said that Cashalo, a Filipino technology and financial services firm, will have \u201ca very aggressive financial literacy for the months and years ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause for us, financial literacy is not just a CSR. We see it as a corporate sustainability,\u201d he told the Philippine News Agency, noting that extending a person funds that he does not know how to save or invest will bounce negatively to the lender because the borrower will not be able to pay it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s really a complete circle. We give them access (to funds) and then we provide them financial literacy. So the person will be wise and prudent from borrowing to saving and investing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The need to ensure the Filipinos\u2019 financial literacy is a must since data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that about 77 percent of the country\u2019s adult population remains unbanked.<\/p>\n

There are also a large number of Filipinos underserved by the formal banking system, thus, they rely on informal lenders who practice the “5-6” scheme, which charge exorbitant fees, and the loan sharks.<\/p>\n

Angluben said Cashalo, which launched its mobile app on Tuesday, said they are optimistic that Filipino borrowers will be more financially knowledgable with the company\u2019s contribution to the central bank\u2019s financial literacy program.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Angluben is optimistic of their business, citing that since operations started last May, the number of their borrowers have risen from 1,000 borrowers to around 30,000 to date.<\/p>\n

He declined to given any forecast on the company\u2019s first year of operations but said the growth of borrowers are \u201cin multiples.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that they are leveraging on technology to assess a borrower\u2019s credit score or capacity to pay, using several options such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, facial recognition, anti-fraud algorithms and data science.<\/p>\n

These innovative assessment is on top of the traditional approach of asking for a borrower\u2019s personal data.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there we\u2019re able to give someone a credit score and determine their credit worthiness. This will be the basis of the amount we will extend to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Angluben said proceeds of the loans are deposited to the borrower\u2019s bank account but added that they are studying more ways that will allow them to be able to extend loans even to those who do not have bank accounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we are focusing on the underserve, meaning these people have bank accounts. But that\u2019s why we are constantly improving our products and a lot of more exciting things are gonna come out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our commitment in really trying to provide financial inclusion to both the underserved and the unbanked,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— Several entities offering financial products have tapped financial technology or fintech to more efficiently cater to their target market, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":186827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","mauthors-joann-villanueva","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}