Philippines emerges as key growth market for MoneyHero

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“The emphasis on credit literacy and good credit behavior is very powerful for the Philippines because it translates to higher approval rates and higher limits.”

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is shaping up to be one of the most promising growth markets for MoneyHero Group, as the regional personal finance platform ramps up investments amid rising digital adoption, improving credit literacy and growing demand for financial products.

Shravan Thakur, chief commercial officer of MoneyHero Group, said the company sees strong long-term potential in the Philippines, citing demographic trends, digital transformation in the banking sector and increasing consumer interest in credit and insurance products.

“We are very bullish on the Philippines as a market,” Thakur said in an interview with The STAR, noting the country’s young population, improving income levels and ongoing efforts to strengthen financial education.

MoneyHero operates across Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines, positioning itself as a personal finance aggregator that helps consumers compare financial products and make informed decisions.

“We are the largest personal finance platform in this region. Everywhere that we operate, we are basically the number one player in the market,” he said.

The company follows a business-to-business-to-consumer model, connecting users with banks, lenders and insurers while providing educational content and product comparisons.

“Our business model is simple. We help consumers better understand financial products, including credit literacy. If they need a financial product and it’s on our platform, we give them options,” Thakur said.

Growing user base

MoneyHero has been operating in the Philippines for more than a decade and now counts about six million users in the country, one of the largest user bases within the group.

Thakur said traffic growth is being supported by increased investment in content and credit literacy initiatives that help consumers better understand borrowing and financial products.

“As we put more effort into credit literacy and credit awareness, I think we will see those numbers increase,” he said.

The company has also upgraded its technology infrastructure, shifting to a standard tech stack across markets to allow faster rollout of tools and features.

“Whatever we do in Hong Kong and Singapore also comes to the Philippines,” Thakur said, adding that improvements in user interface and customer experience are part of ongoing upgrades.

Among its product segments, credit cards continue to drive growth in the Philippine market, reflecting both consumer demand and banks’ push toward digital channels.

“At this point in time, credit cards are still the largest growing vertical for us because for many consumers, it’s a gateway product to credit,” Thakur said.

MoneyHero is also expanding into lending and insurance. The company recently partnered with insurtech firms InsureMO and Bolttech to help scale its insurance business nationwide.

“Besides credit cards, I think insurance is the next big one for us. And we’ll continue focusing on lending,” he said.

Revenue comes mainly from referral fees paid by partner banks and lending firms when users apply and get approved for products, as well as commissions from insurance sales through its licensed brokerage arm.

While MoneyHero aims to partner with as many financial institutions as possible, digital readiness remains a prerequisite.

“In the Philippines, we already partner with all the big banks and we are constantly talking to the remaining ones,” Thakur said. “If a bank doesn’t have digital distribution and is not digitally ready, then we cannot work with them.”

Thakur expects more opportunities as smaller banks continue investing in digital transformation. “As they do (invest more in digitization), we’ll work with them, absolutely,” he said.

Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are also playing a growing role in the company’s strategy, both to improve efficiency and enhance customer experience.

“One of the reasons we’ve been doing well quarter-on-quarter is that as we scale revenue, our costs are not necessarily increasing. That’s because we can leverage AI to do things better and more efficiently,” Thakur said.

AI is currently being used to automate processes, power chatbots and support recommendation engines. The company is also moving toward conversational AI that allows users to ask questions and receive tailored product recommendations.

“We are moving toward more conversational AI. If you’re looking for a financial product, you can come onto the platform, ask a question and based on your responses, we can recommend the right product,” he said.

MoneyHero recently launched new AI-driven tools in Singapore and plans to roll out similar capabilities in the Philippines as part of Project Odyssey.

Credit awareness gap

Compared with mature markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore, the Philippines still faces challenges in credit awareness and approval rates, although Thakur said this also represents a growth opportunity.

He stressed that improving credit literacy could raise approval rates and support broader economic activity.

“The emphasis on credit literacy and good credit behavior is very powerful for the Philippines because it translates to higher approval rates and higher limits. That works for consumers, for banks and for the economy,” he said.

Despite higher interest rates and cautious household spending, Thakur said demand for credit remains steady. Still, the focus should be on helping consumers manage credit responsibly.

While Thakur declined to disclose specific growth targets, he said the Philippines remains one of the company’s strongest priorities over the next two years, adding that investments will continue in credit cards, lending and insurance.

He also pointed to the potential impact of open finance initiatives, which could enable real-time data sharing and seamless customer journeys.

“If open finance becomes a reality in the Philippines, we can bring many innovations here as well,” he said, citing examples in Hong Kong and Singapore where users can complete entire insurance transactions within minutes through integrated platforms.

For Filipino customers still hesitant to use online comparison platforms, Thakur said education remains at the core of MoneyHero’s mission.

Thakur said the company’s role is to educate consumers about financial products by producing content that simplifies complex offerings and provides an independent, consumer-focused perspective.

He also noted that independent comparisons and personalized recommendations can help consumers make better financial decisions.

“I would highly encourage Filipino consumers to use platforms like ours to understand products and services better, get an independent perspective and make the right choice,” he added.

As digital finance adoption accelerates and more Filipinos turn to online platforms for financial decisions, MoneyHero sees the Philippines as a market where education, technology and partnerships could play a bigger role in shaping how consumers access and manage credit in the years ahead.