KasamaKA, FINTQ’s income and community builder program for financial inclusion, has further expanded its reach in grassroots communities after the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas (LNB) issued a National Executive Board Resolution, making it as the national program to accelerate financial inclusion in barangays.
The Board Resolution was turned over by LNB President Atty. Edmund Abesamis, LNB NCR regional chapter president Ricardo Corpuz, and LNB press relations officer Marlon Manalo to PLDT, Smart, Voyager Innovations and PayMaya Philippines chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and FINTQ managing director Lito Villanueva.
Under the Board Resolution, barangays are set to adopt KasamaKA–the first-of-its-kind program that aims to accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines. It combines financial literacy with an income opportunity builder that rewards responsible usage of digital financial services such as digital micro savings, lending, micro insurance, and micro investments. The adoption of the program is aimed to protect individuals from predatory lenders, more popularly knows as 5-6 operators. It also supports President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s initiative to reduce poverty by 2020.
Each LNB Member Barangay will appoint their Barangay Community Leader (BCL) who will be tasked to facilitate the voluntary participation of their constituents in various financial inclusion activities such as information dissemination campaigns and financial education programs in barangay assemblies with the help of FINTQ.
The BCLs will also have to identify sari-sari stores that will cater as the Barangay Digital Community Centers that will serve as the “last mile customer touchpoint” for digital financial services in their respective communities.
“Financial inclusion is definitely part of our capacity building measures. Being at the grassroots, KasamaKA will enable our over 42,000 barangays to have greater awareness and access to inclusive digital financial services. As a national movement for inclusive growth, it will surely have a ripple effect on economic growth and development,” said LNB president Atty. Abesamis.
For his part, FINTQ managing director Lito Villanueva said: “The adoption of KasamaKA by the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas in their vast network will certainly empower most, if not all Filipinos, in the country as it aims to aid these communities in conducting sustainable financial education campaigns and at the same time expand their community livelihood and create more income-generating opportunities.”
“This collaboration has a huge potential and will certainly amplify KasamaKA’s reach to help us achieve our goal of including 30 million Filipinos by 2020 in the formal financial system. It is likewise a strong boost to make the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ vision of increasing the digital financial transactions in the country from the current one percent to 20 percent by 2020 into a reality,” Villanueva added.
Barangay constituents particularly the likes of ambulant vendors, farmers, and self-employed workers who remain financially excluded can learn more about available, accessible and affordable financial services. At the same time, they can also earn up to P300 additional income every time they use a service or successfully refer a relative, a friend or their regular customer in the KasamaKA program.
To make financial inclusion work, KasamaKA combines technology and a grassroots-based approach. Filipinos can sign up to become part of KasamaKA by just registering online at www.kasamaka.com or by texting REG <Space><First Name>/<Last Name>/<Date of Birth, MMDDYYYY>/<Address> and send to 29292 to jumpstart the free registration process. Once signed-up, a member will receive his own KasamaKA Builder ID code via SMS. Once registered, members are given incentives based on referrals and transactions made in services that are giving rewards via KasamaKA.
FINTQnologies, Corp. (FINTQ) is the financial technology arm of PLDT and Smart’s Voyager Innovations. Working in collaboration with partners such as banks, financial institutions and governments, among its key thrusts is to accelerate inclusive digital finance in the era of digital economy. Its platforms and services encompass areas including loans, insurance, micro savings, disbursements, anti-fraud security, and cloud e-banking platforms.
