A proposed measure in the House of Representatives seeks to establish the Philippines’ first comprehensive legal framework for consumer-directed financial data sharing, allowing everyday digital transactions to serve as proof of creditworthiness and potentially expanding access to financial services for millions of Filipinos.
House Bill No. 9149, or the Open Finance and Consumer Data Empowerment Act of 2025, aims to bridge the gap between how Filipinos participate in the digital economy and how financial institutions assess credit risk. The measure would give consumers the legal right to authorize the transfer of their financial and transactional data to accredited lenders and financial service providers for credit evaluation.
Under the proposed law, consumers may permit the sharing of up to 24 months of financial records, including alternative data such as utility bill payments, subscription activity, e-wallet transactions, rewards card usage, and other digital payment histories. Accredited lenders could use this information to gain a more comprehensive view of a person’s creditworthiness, particularly for individuals without traditional banking relationships such as loans, credit cards, or deposit accounts.
Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, a co-author of the bill, said the country’s regulatory framework has not kept pace with the rapid growth of the digital economy. “The digital economy has outpaced our regulatory infrastructure. Filipinos are generating rich financial data every day through their phones, their e-wallets, and their utility payments. We aim to leverage that data to democratize access to financial tools and services that have long been unavailable for millions,” according to Acidre.
The proposal has also gained support from the financial technology sector. Todd Schweitzer, a board trustee of the Fintech Alliance Philippines, said open finance legislation would simultaneously broaden financial inclusion and encourage greater competition among financial service providers. “Open Finance legislation matters because it accomplishes two things at once: it directly expands financial access for consumers, and it opens new markets for industry to competitively serve customers the system has ignored,” Schweitzer said.
The measure comes as digital payments continue to grow across the country. Recent data show that digital payments accounted for 57.4% of all retail payment transactions in the Philippines in 2024, while an estimated 58 million Filipinos now use e-wallets. Despite this growth, Schweitzer noted that the country remains underbanked and underserved compared with many of its regional peers. He said Filipinos already generate extensive financial data through digital platforms, but the absence of a legal framework has prevented consumers from fully leveraging this information to access financial products.
“Filipinos are digital natives, though, and have rich data sources beyond banking data to demonstrate their creditworthiness. What’s been missing is the legal right to put that data to work, and the mandate for data-holding institutions to provide that data upon the consumer’s request. This bill arrives at the right moment: the digital rails and data privacy standards are in place, demand is clear, and this bill would establish a pioneering framework to unlock a more consumer-centric financial services industry,” Schweitzer added.
To oversee implementation, House Bill No. 9149 proposes the creation of the Consumer Data Commission (CDC) under the Office of the President. The commission would have jurisdiction over banks, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, utility providers, and other entities that collect and maintain consumer data.
The proposed commission would be chaired by a commissioner from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and co-led by at least a deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). It would also include representatives from the National Privacy Commission (NPC), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), and four private-sector experts in banking, financial technology, or data protection.
Among its responsibilities would be setting technical and cybersecurity standards for data transfers, accrediting organizations authorized to receive consumer data, conducting compliance audits, and imposing sanctions on entities that violate the law. The commission would also be required to submit an annual report to Congress on the implementation of open finance and consumer data rights, as well as conduct a comprehensive review of the law every two years if enacted.