JP Morgan eyes e-commerce boom in Philippines

June 1, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Global bank JP Morgan is doubling down on its presence in the Philippines, aiming to power the next wave of financial innovation through strategic investments, fintech partnerships and cutting-edge cross-border payment technologies.

In an interview with The STAR, JP Morgan global co-head of payments Max Neukirchen said that e-commerce is a booming sector in the country, which presents a significant opportunity for digital payments.

“We’re committed to supporting this growth, investing in technology, fostering partnerships and providing our own innovative payment solutions that are seamless and secure,” he said.

“We’re also committed to supporting the country’s journey towards greater financial inclusivity and innovation.”

Neukirchen said he is optimistic about the digital payment landscape in the Philippines and sees it as a high-potential market fueled by a digitally connected population and a thriving e-commerce ecosystem.

With 89 percent of adults owning mobile phones and 77 percent accessing the internet, the country provides fertile ground for digital transformation.

According to JP Morgan, merchant and utility payments, remittances, and loans already account for 65 percent of digital payment transactions in the Philippines. With over 250 fintech firms leading the way in digital inclusion, the country is emerging as a payments innovation hotspot in Southeast Asia.

A key component of JP Morgan’s strategy in Asia-Pacific is collaboration. The firm is actively partnering with fintech companies and local financial institutions to extend its reach and bring innovation to market faster.

“We call it ‘fintech plus’,” Neukirchen said. “We combine the scale, stability and trust of a global bank with the speed and agility of a fintech.”

This hybrid approach is already bearing fruit across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

JP Morgan is working with players like Kasikornbank in Thailand (Project Carina), Oracle and Kyriba to build interoperable ecosystems that support everything from blockchain-based cross-border payments to real-time treasury operations.

It also views cross-border payments as a critical area of transformation. With transaction volumes in Asia Pacific reaching $2 trillion last year — and projected to surge past $290 trillion globally by 2030 — the bank is aggressively investing in new rails and technologies.

These include account-to-account payments, pay-to-wallet solutions and real-time payments, which are reshaping how businesses and consumers move money across borders.

Neukirchen also said that the Philippines presents tremendous opportunities, particularly in areas such as overseas remittances and the growing adoption of e-wallets.

“As a top remittance recipient in Asia, the Philippine market would require more and more cross-border payment solutions to cater to increasing remittance requirements,” he said.

“In conjunction with this, the increasing usage of e-wallet would entail more seamless and secure e-wallet solutions from global institutions such as ours,” he added.

As the Philippines continues to embrace digital payments and the broader Asia Pacific region pushes toward interoperability, JP Morgan is positioning itself not just as a service provider but as a catalyst for innovation and inclusive growth.