TECHNOLOGY
Tonik builds on Google Cloud to accelerate financial inclusion, open banking innovation in PH
January 12, 2022 1:11 p.m.
SINGAPORE – Tonik Digital Bank (“Tonik”), the Philippines’ first digital-only neobank, is tapping Google Cloud’s advanced platform to accelerate financial inclusion for all Filipinos.
Leveraging Google Cloud’s expertise in scalable infrastructure, application programming interface (API) management, machine learning (ML) and data analytics, the bank has taken just 10 months to become an established leader in open banking innovation and delivering next-generation financial services.
Tonik, which is part of Singapore-headquartered fintech firm Tonik Financial Pte. Ltd., was launched in March 2021 after obtaining an initial rural bank license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Its digital platform provides core services like deposits with interest rates of up to six percent per annum.
There are also unique features for customers to create separate pockets of savings to meet specific goals over time called “Stashes,” such as affording a vacation, a college education, or accumulating an emergency fund.
“Fewer overheads from being branchless allows us to offer industry-leading interest rates that enhance Filipinos’ financial wellness, but our value proposition cannot be solely driven by lower costs. We have had to first earn the trust of consumers by investing heavily in a superior customer experience,” said Greg Krasnov, Founder and CEO, Tonik. “Google Cloud has enabled us to deliver frictionless and customer-centric services that allow Filipinos to easily embrace the financial system. This collaboration – having played an integral role in Tonik being entrusted with more than US$100 million in consumer deposits to date – will empower us to continue expanding our product portfolio and drive real societal impact across the region.”
Secure APIs Open Up New Possibilities for Consumers and Developers
With the BSP requiring banks to conduct due diligence by verifying each customer’s identity to prevent fraud and money laundering, applying for an account traditionally involves individuals having to first visit a physical branch to present valid government-issued identification (ID) to an officer.
This makes it difficult for millions of Filipinos to open accounts or make deposits. Unlike urban cities that have bank branches or ATMs at every corner, the people in rural Philippines – who account for 52.6 percent of the total population[1] – must travel long distances and arrive before the branch closes.
By using Google Cloud’s Apigee API Management platform to build and scale open banking APIs, Tonik could quickly integrate its mobile application with capabilities from third-party providers to make account opening and cash deposits fast, seamless and convenient.
To help Filipinos set up accounts in under five minutes – instead of hours or days, Tonik interoperates with Daon, its partner for automated customer onboarding and biometric authentication.
The process starts with Tonik asking the customer for a selfie and a scanned copy of their ID. Tonik extracts text from these images through Google Cloud’s optical character recognition (OCR) APIs and shares the information with Daon through another trusted API.
Daon then cross-checks the customer’s identity against official sources that issued the ID. This complex data flow is invisible to the user, who only needs to download the Tonik mobile application, verify their identity for account opening, and start banking.
Using APIs, Tonik also exchanges data securely with authorized ecosystem partners like 7-Eleven convenience stores and pawn shops to capture transactions in real-time. When a user makes a deposit at a 7-Eleven, which are readily available across the Philippines, they would see the completed transaction on their Tonik application and start earning interest immediately.
“Interoperability is core to our business strategy and everything on our digital banking application is therefore API-driven,” said Arivuvel Ramu, Chief Technology Officer, Tonik. “As our architectural foundation, Google Cloud’s industry-leading Apigee API Management platform allows us to unlock new digital channels, expand our business model, and generate new revenue streams. While APIs are not new to conventional banks, they tend to be private APIs tailored for a specific partner, which means third parties cannot reuse that API. In line with our commitment toward supporting broader ecosystem innovation, we have taken the private APIs that we have developed and converted them into public APIs.”
Third-party developers who want to create new features or services for Tonik’s ecosystem of partners and users can now reuse its public APIs to do so expeditiously. Apigee also provides a sandbox environment for developers to test and refine what they have created. Issues that would cause downtime can then be identified and rectified before the feature or service is authorized and rolled out to its intended users.
“Customers trust us with sensitive information like demographic and transaction data. As a custodian of data and a facilitator of open banking innovation, it is imperative that we uphold the highest standards of consent management and API security. By capturing and managing customer consent on what data we are permitted to share with authorized third parties, Apigee ensures that we comply with stringent regulatory requirements like PSD2. Apigee simultaneously secures our APIs to avoid data breaches by malicious users,” said Ramu.
Pooling Insights to Deliver Financial Wellness and Hyper Personalized Customer Experiences
Tonik currently serves more than 190,000 customers. To further advance financial inclusion and achieve its target of growing its active customer base to a million users by December 2022, the bank has built an intelligent data lake using Cloud Storage on Google Cloud and BigQuery to provide hyper personalized customer experiences and help many Filipinos access loans for the first time. With data generated from every event along the customer journey and residing across systems, connecting datasets and analyzing them manually is an uphill task. A cloud-based contact center software, for example, captures customer interactions and feedback across channels, while a core banking system captures deposits and withdrawals.
By unifying data across systems and applying machine learning, Tonik can, for instance, implement quick and accurate alternative credit scoring methods. This enables it to serve individuals who have not formally engaged with financial institutions in the past, have no credit histories, and do not qualify for traditional bank loans as a result. Tonik has recently pioneered a consumer lending product called “Quick Loan” without the need for credit histories or collateral, followed by approvals within 30 minutes and real-time disbursement.
“To drive financial inclusion and transcend physical distance, pivoting to digital-first business models and customer interactions are now a necessity,” said Ruma Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Google Cloud. “Tonik, through its mature API- and data-led strategy, is creating an open finance ecosystem that will accrue richer digital user experiences and flexibility for players to securely share and maximize digital assets – with Filipinos the ultimate beneficiaries. Google Cloud is proud to be a part of Tonik’s innovation journey. We look forward to supporting the bank’s continuous commitment toward serving the Philippines’ unbanked and underbanked, while it scales for growth and empowers the region’s fintech developer community.”
TECHNOLOGY
5-star drop-resistant HONOR X6b now available in PH exclusively on Shopee starting this 9.9 for only P5,399!
1:10 p.m. September 7, 2024
Wait there’s more! HONOR X6b has a Piso Sale on September 9 to 11 at exactly 12 midnight!
Leading global smart devices provider, HONOR, finally announced the availability of HONOR X6b exclusively on Shopee Super Shopping Day on September 9 for Php 5,399. And if you get lucky, you can get the HONOR X6b during Piso Sale on 9.9 Flash Sale!
“Durability is now more affordable with HONOR X6b! If you’re eyeing an entry level smartphone that is drop-resistant, long lasting, and efficient with battery capsule, the HONOR X6b is perfect for you! In an exclusive launch with Shopee on 9.9, we are offering exciting deals that kickstart the holiday limbo as early as September!” said HONOR Philippines Vice President Stephen Cheng.
Putting the HONOR X6b into a durability test, media partners and KOLs witness how the smartphone can withstand impacts at Studio 300, Makati, with HONOR X6b phones being aimed at in bowling, billiards, and soccer. Thanks to its comprehensive 360° protection across all six faces and four corners of the device, certified by SGS with industry-leading 5-Star Drop-Resistant Quality.
LONG LASTING 5200MAH BATTERY AND 35W HONOR SUPERCHARGE
Offering up to two days of light daily usage on a single charge, the HONOR X6b houses a large 5200mAh battery to power the power-efficient MediaTek Helio G85 at the core of the smartphone. The battery is also highly energy-dense at 731wh/L, fitting in the 8.39mm thin chassis that feels just right in the hand. Whether it’s for listening to music or browsing social media, the HONOR X6b stays powered for longer, with up to 26 hours of online streaming or 27 hours of social media engagement.
Moreover, charging is no longer a waiting game with the 35W HONOR SuperCharge technology. Users can activate the Turbo charging mode in a single tap and achieve a 20% charge in just 10 minutes.
MAGIC CAPSULE AND LARGE STORAGE CAPACITY
The HONOR X6b is one of the HONOR devices equipped with the Magic Capsule. The Magic capsule is located at the top of the screen shaped like a “capsule” presenting ongoing tasks, notifications, recording, clock, and more interactions.
The Magic Capsule can shrink into a “little ball” after displaying for some time and can be expanded when checking detailed status of quick operations.
Storage space is abundant in the HONOR X6b, which boasts 256GB of internal memory. This expansive storage can house over 60,000 photos, more than 24,000 songs, or over 200 movies, ensuring that users’ favorite content is always within reach. Enhancing its performance, the HONOR X6b features HONOR RAM Turbo technology, which effectively doubles the available RAM from 6GB to 12GB by utilizing a portion of the flash memory. This innovation allows for smoother multitasking and enhances the user experience.
Check out the HONOR X6b from your Shopee baskets on September 9-11 via livestream at HONOR’s Facebook page and HONOR’s Official Shopee Page and get the smartphone for only 1-peso at midnight! Moreover, the HONOR X6b is also available for only Php 5,999 as an early bird promo with FREE Earbuds II worth Php 1,299.
Don’t worry if you miss the midnight sale and early bird promo, the HONOR X6b is discounted at Php 5,399 on September 9 and during flash sales from September 10 to September 19 exclusively on Shopee. Check it out here https://shopee.ph/product/66540358/28407883555/
For more exciting announcements, check out HONOR Philippines’ social media platforms: Facebook (Facebook.com/HonorPhilippines), Instagram (Instagram.com/honorph/) and TikTok Shop: (Tiktok.com/@honorphilippines). To check out HONOR’s complete list of retail stores, go to https://www.hihonor.com/ph/retailers/.
TECHNOLOGY
Tiny pad, mighty fun: Xiaomi launches Redmi Pad SE 8.7
10:44 p.m. September 2, 2024
XIAOMI recently announced the launch of its latest tablet, the Redmi Pad SE 8.7, designed to deliver an immersive theater-like experience in a device that’s super portable.
Its biggest feature is its stunning 8.7-inch display. Enjoy clear and vibrant visuals on the eye-protecting display, which features up to 600 nits of brightness and a 90Hz refresh rate for smooth and seamless scrolling and gaming. The 8.7-inch screen also creates a 5:3 aspect ratio that’s wider than the standard 16:9, making it better for all your favorite content.
The tablet also features comfortable immersion with its low blue light and flicker-free display which reduces eye strain and increases visual comfort. It also has Paper Reading mode to simulate the actual booklike paper experience, while retaining Classic Mode for a typical digital feel.
For a truly theater-like sound, the Redmi Pad SE 8.7 also has Dolby Atmos® technology that delivers rich and detailed sound for a truly cinematic experience. It has 2TB of built-in storage for all your favorite video content from your usual platforms.
The Redmi Pad SE 8.7 also comes with an octa-core MediaTek Helio G85 processor, which ensures seamless and reliable multitasking and gaming, while the 6,650mAh battery provides long-lasting power that lasts up to 25.2 hours when playing video. The battery fills up fast with 18W fast charging support, getting you from 0 to 100% in just 140 minutes.
It also comes in three vibrant colors: Graphite Gray, Aurora Green, and Sky Blue. It’s also slim and lightweight at only 8.8-mm and 373 grams for easy portability.
The Redmi Pad SE 8.7 is now available on Shopee (Xiaomi Global Store) with a special Early Bird Promo until September 4. Get the Redmi Pad SE 8.7 WiFi 4+128GB for P6,399 (down from the SRP of P7,999). The 4+64GB variant is available for a special promo price of P5,399 (from P6,999 SRP).
Find out for yourself the true portable theater experience with the Redmi Pad SE 8.7 today! Learn more about it by visiting http://mi.com/ph.
TECHNOLOGY
Kickstart your side hustles with Maya Personal Loan
8:22 a.m. September 1, 2024
BEEN dreaming of opening your own coffee shop or launching an online store but stuck without the funds? Fret not! With the Personal Loan product of Maya, the #1 Digital Bank in the Philippines, turning your side venture into reality is effortless with just a few taps.
Boost Your Funds for your Side Hustle
Currently in early access and available to select users, Maya Personal Loan offers up to ₱250,000 with flexible repayment terms of up to 24 months and an incredibly low add-on rate of just 0.77% per month. Whether you’re planning to launch a new business, invest in essential equipment, or enhance your skills through a course, this loan gives you the capital you need to thrive.
Borrow Without the Hassle
Applying for your Maya Personal Loan is simple and stress-free! All you need is your upgraded Maya account to get started—no additional paperwork, collateral, or guarantor required. Once approved, the funds are transferred directly to your Maya Wallet, giving you instant access to the money you need.
Say goodbye to long approval processes and hello to a streamlined, hassle-free experience. Here’s how to get started:
Open your Maya app, go to the Loans tab, and start the application process by tapping ‘Apply now.’
Enter your desired loan amount, complete the application process, and wait for feedback on your eligibility.
Choose your loan offer and tap ‘Accept’ if you’re happy with the terms.
Enter a One-Time Pin (OTP) to authorize the loan disbursement.
Manage Your Loan with Ease
Managing your loan is a breeze with the Maya app. You can settle your dues directly from your Maya Wallet, which helps you maintain a good credit score. Plus, Maya’s top-notch security ensures your funds are safe, so you can focus on growing your side hustle with peace of mind.
Ready to make your next big life move? Apply for a Maya Personal Loan today and give your side hustle the boost it needs to succeed. Keep using Maya for your transactions to stay on track and become eligible for more loan opportunities. For more information, visit maya.ph and mayabank.ph, and stay connected by following @mayaiseverything on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
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