Juanhand Lending Corp. expects the Philippine financial technology (fintech) industry to maintain high-double-digit loan growth through 2030 after a resilient performance last year despite weak business sentiment.
“We are very well positioned for fintech Because it is still growing in high double digits, even for 2026 and beyond, President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco “Coco” Mauricio said in a news briefing on Wednesday.
“We expect growth rates to be in very high double digits at least through 2030,” he said.
The fintech sector expanded 27% year on year in 2025, boosted by strong demand for online lending despite a corruption scandal that undermined overall business confidence in the latter half of the year.
Juanhand has recorded a compound annual growth rate of 89% over the past five years, doubling its turnover annually.
The company reported more than 100,000 transactions per day and P4 billion in loan disbursements each month last year. Its platform also crossed 65 million downloads, 20 million registered users and 4 million active borrowers at any point of time.
Mr. Mauricio credited the company's strong anti-fraud systems for supporting the growth.
He said their proprietary cyber security platform prevented almost all fraud attempts. Initially only 0.0001% of transactions bypassed the system and were eventually stopped, he said.
Juanhand also said it would comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) interest rate and fee limits for small consumer loans, despite previously proposing a tiered approach.
Francis Jasper Fullagar, head of external affairs, said, “Juanhand is supportive of regulation and the SEC. We have complied with the 15% in the past, and we have no reason again not to comply with the 12% limit come April 2026.”
The SEC in December capped nominal interest rates at 6% per month and effective interest rates at 12% per month for loans up to P10,000 with terms up to four months.
Mr Mauricio said these limits mainly apply to smaller loans, which make up more than 15% of the industry's total loan book.
Despite regulatory changes, officials said the fintech sector is poised for long-term growth, with the adoption of digital lending platforms expected to increase participation from households and small borrowers. — Aaron Michael C. Cy