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
Capture life’s magic with vivo Y19s’ 50MP Night AI Camera
4:20 p.m. December 27, 2024
Step up your photography game with the vivo Y19s for as low as P6,499, the smartphone designed for those who live life in full color.
Equipped with a 50MP Night AI Camera and AI Photo Enhance, the vivo Y19s ensures that every shot is breathtaking, even at night!
Budget phone that revolutionizes night photography
The vivo Y19s redefines what a budget smartphone can achieve in low-light conditions. Its powerful 50MP Night AI Camera is engineered to capture crisp, vibrant, and detailed images, even in dim environments.
With advanced AI technology, it automatically optimizes your shots, making your photos vibrant and full of life any time of the day.
Even portrait shots look stunning! Check this out:
[Embed video here: https://www.tiktok.com/@vivo_philippines/video/7443407000601382200 ]
Effortless editing with AI Photo Enhance
Complementing its 50MP Night AI Camera, vivo Y19s also boasts AI Photo Enhance, a tool that optimizes images in one click by intelligently adjusting the exposure, colors, and sharpness of your photography to ensure an Instagram-ready photo!
Stylish colorways to match your flair
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The vivo Y19s is available for as low as P6,499 with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Ready to make your memories even more stunning? Grab yours today at the vivo e-store, Shopee, or Lazada, or visit the nearest vivo physical store!
TECHNOLOGY
Zoom into the Powerful Camera Features of the OPPO Find X8
6:25 p.m. December 26, 2024
In today’s fast-paced world, capturing memories isn’t just a hobby, it’s a way to tell your story. Whether you’re sipping a latte at your favorite hidden café, enjoying a vibrant night out, or exploring scenic landscapes, the OPPO Find X8 ensures every moment is captured in stunning detail.
Hasselblad Master Camera System: Professional Quality in Your Pocket
At the heart of the OPPO Find X8 is the Hasselblad Master Camera System, a game-changer for mobile photography. Featuring three 50MP cameras—a wide-angle, ultra-wide, and telephoto lens—it allows you to capture everything from sweeping landscapes to intricate close-ups with outstanding quality.
The AI Telescope Zoom lets you snap crystal-clear images even at 120x, so you can immortalize those far-off moments.
Additionally, the periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and AI-enhanced 60x zoom brings distant subjects into sharp focus. Imagine capturing the perfect shot of your idol on stage—even from the nosebleed section of the concert hall.
Love taking portraits? The Hasselblad Portrait Mode recreates the iconic bokeh effect of Hasselblad’s legendary lenses. Whether it’s a candid shot during brunch or a golden-hour portrait at the park, your photos will radiate elegance and clarity.
Pro Tip: Elevate your portraits by playing with the lighting. With the OPPO Find X8’s intelligent subject detection, even low-light settings turn into your personal photo studio.
Lightning Snap: Perfect for Action Shots
Life doesn’t wait for the perfect moment, and neither should you.
With the OPPO Find X8’s Lightning Snap feature, you can freeze moving subjects, be it a bustling city street or your bestie dancing at a rooftop bar. The camera captures bursts at up to 7 frames per second, ensuring you never miss a beat.
Pro Tip: Hold down the shutter button while capturing motion. Later, select your favorite frame to showcase your creativity.
HyperTone Image Engine: True-to-Life Photos
The HyperTone Image Engine takes your photos to the next level by merging multiple frames into one breathtaking image. Vibrant colors, balanced lighting, and rich details make every shot gallery-worthy. Whether it’s the latte art on your cappuccino or a vibrant sunset, your photos will pop with lifelike beauty.
LivePhoto: Bring Moments to Life
Why settle for static photos when you can have dynamic ones? The LivePhoto feature captures both stills and short video clips, letting you relive moments exactly as they happened. It’s perfect for capturing a bustling market scene or the cheers during a celebration.
Make Every Night an Adventure
Night owls will love the OPPO Find X8’s low-light capabilities. Its advanced sensors and AI ensure noise-free, vibrant photos even in dim settings. Whether you’re capturing neon lights at your favorite bar or a starry night during a getaway, the results are nothing short of magical.
Make Memories That Last
Whether it’s a solo café session, or a night out with friends, or a weekend getaway, the OPPO Find X8 ensures every moment is picture-perfect. Its intelligent, user-friendly features make it the ideal tool for modern, on-the-go creatives.
The OPPO Find X8 is now available nationwide. It’s priced at PHP 54,999 and comes in two colorways – Space Black and Star Grey. Visit any authorized OPPO stores or shop in the OPPO’s official stores in Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop to get your hands on this powerhouse device.
Celebrate Christmas the Maligayang PaskOPPO way
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To know more about the OPPO Find X8, Maligayang PaskOPPO Campaign, and the My OPPO App, visit OPPO Philippines’ official website at www.oppo.com.ph/ or OPPO Philippines’ official social media pages on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
TECHNOLOGY
Converge kicks off data privacy advocacy program for students
3:30 p.m. December 12, 2024
AMID the increasing social media activity of young Filipinos, leading fiber broadband and technology provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has launched an advocacy campaign that advances digital literacy and privacy awareness among school children.
Through its Corporate Governance and Data Privacy (CGDP) Group, Converge introduced its Project PIGLET (Privacy Integration through Guided Learning of Emerging Technologies), which intends to educate learners on the importance of protecting their personal information online.
To kickstart the initiative, Converge tied up with its neighboring primary school Francisco Legaspi Memorial School (FLMS) in Pasig to engage its pupils in Grades 2 to 6 in a child-friendly discussion on digital literacy and responsible online behavior.
“The goal of this initiative is to raise awareness about the potential risks in the internet since children nowadays are already given access to gadgets and social media. We believe it is essential to start educating kids to be more vigilant from an early age, both at home and in school, to help them avoid falling victim to these threats,” said Converge SVP and Corporate Compliance and Data Protection Officer Atty. Laurice Esteban-Tuason.
During the launch, Converge hosted a storytelling session for the pupils, along with their parents and teachers. Integrating a child-friendly spin on the topic, the story follows the adventures of the ‘Astro Kids’ in the ‘Internet Universe,’ where they encounter deceptive monsters, feigning friendliness, tricking them to share their personal information like their full name, birthday, address, and contact information.
With the help of Captain Conrad, the Astro Kids successfully defeated the monsters in the story, guiding the participants to be cautious and not to easily trust individuals who seem overly friendly in cyberspace. Additionally, the students were encouraged to inform their parents or teachers about such incidents of potential identity theft, fraudulent schemes, and misinformation.
“The technology is constantly evolving, and our call is for all of us to be aware and vigilant as we navigate all these. We hope that the lesson we impart through this program is a step to a safer online and digital experience for all of us,” added Esteban-Tuason.
Next year, Converge plans to explore other approaches to engage students at other academic levels and visit more schools throughout the country to spread the campaign.
Converge has been actively striving to help foster safe and secure online spaces for Filipinos. In 2022, Converge collaborated with UK-based child abuse watchdog Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to combat the distribution of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse.
Additionally, Converge partnered with the Stairway Foundation last year to raise awareness about ways to safeguard kids against online sexual abuse and exploitation.
Moreover, ensuring that its network won’t be used for criminal activities, the company also blocked almost 12 billion entry attempts to illicit and harmful web addresses as of end-2023.
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