JAKARTA, INDONESIA – Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)’s Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer, Lito Villanueva, served as the moderator for a high-level panel of top regional regulators during the ASEAN Economic Fintech Forum held in Jakarta.
Villanueva, who is also the Founding Chairman of the FIntech Alliance.PH, led the session titled “Setting the Stage: Fintech Development in Asia 2025 and Beyond,” where he was joined by distinguished regulators from across Southeast Asia. The panel included Dr. Pucktada Treeratpituk, Director of the Payment Systems and Financial Technology Policy Department at the Bank of Thailand; Alvinder Singh, Head of the Innovation Acceleration Office at the Monetary Authority of Singapore; HJ Zaki Mohidin, Assistant Executive Director and Head of FinTech at the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB); and Aji Maulendra of the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK).
The discussion centered on Fintech’s evolving role as a regional buffer against economic shocks, especially amidst ongoing global challenges such as inflation, tariffs, and trade disruptions. Regulators emphasized the strategic pivot toward digital finance as a resilient framework for national economies.
Villanueva was joined by top regulators from Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei. The discussion emphasized financial inclusion, cross-border payments, and regional collaboration in advancing digital finance.
A key focus of the panel was financial inclusion as a national priority, underpinned by fintech’s potential to bridge access gaps in traditional banking systems. The panelists recognized technology’s ability to serve the underserved and accelerate inclusive economic growth.
Another topic of emphasis was the shift towards cross-border payments, as demonstrated by initiatives like Project Nexus. The impact of Nexus Global Payments (NGP) in Singapore was cited as a compelling example, enabling real-time, interoperable, and low-cost international transactions.
The regulators further underscored the value of collaboration as a competitive advantage, calling for harmonized regulatory frameworks, shared digital infrastructure, and fintech-driven growth anchored in inclusivity.
According to the ASEAN Fintech Forum, Southeast Asia is home to over 3,000 fintech startups spanning payments, insurtech, and blockchain sectors. The region’s digital payments market is expected to surpass US$300 billion by the end of 2025, driven by rapid mobile wallet adoption and the continued rise of e-commerce.
