Greater public-private cooperation, enabling policies to accelerate MSMEs' digital shift, says fintech leaders

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Micro, small, and medium enterprises in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are seen benefiting from increased cooperation in the region, which allows financial technology players to better serve small businesses, according to industry players.

Rowena Zamora, Chief Strategy Officer of Mynt, the parent company of GCash, said ASEAN initiatives that support fintech companies in empowering small businesses include the ASEAN Single Window, which has allowed more streamlined digital processing for fintech firms and MSMEs.

"We have to democratize policies and processes to expand MSMEs' access to the market, both from a domestic and the larger ASEAN regional lens, and provide practical innovations that address issues like the cost of participation and the cost of regulatory compliance," she said.

GCash, which has been enabling the digital transformation of roughly six million merchants, offers MSMEs alternatives to traditional financing, alongside partnerships with the Philippines' national policymaking agencies and regulatory bodies.

With ASEAN standardizing cross-border regulations and GCash enabling cross-border transactions, including for MSMEs that require sourcing from foreign countries, the cost to participate in the regional market becomes significantly lower, said Zamora.

Zamora made these remarks at a panel discussion during the Public Forum of the World Trade Organization in September this year at Geneva, Switzerland.

The panel session, titled "Beyond Borders: ASEAN's Bold Paths to MSME Digitalization," was co-organized by the Philippine Mission to the WTO and GCash. It also convened other stakeholders from the region, namely, Indonesian open-platform digital wallet DANA, and the Bank for International Settlements' (BIS) Innovation Hub.

In his opening remarks at the panel, Ambassador Manuel Teehankee, the Philippines' Permanent Representative to the WTO, underscored the importance of accessibility in cross-border interoperability to help MSMEs face the increasing complexity of global markets.

He also reaffirmed the Philippines' backing of the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which aims to build an integrated ASEAN digital market, ahead of the country's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026.

Felix Sharief, vice president of Public Policy and Government Relations at DANA, also said in the panel that the Indonesian e-wallet platform has benefitted from ASEAN's standardization of e-commerce processes and economic cooperation, lowering costs, and allowing them to provide more services for unbanked populations.

Sharief also noted critical investments that provide MSMEs access to the digital economy, saying, "Collaboration between the public and private sectors shapes the landscape, with private companies supplying the technology and innovation, and the public sector creating enabling policies. This way, we can have transformation and digitalization, and make sure financial means are accessible to all of society."

Zamora also took part in the working session, "Digital Payments in ASEAN: From Innovation to Inclusion," organized by the Indonesian government, which discussed cross-border QR interoperability and regional payment connectivity.