Retirement fund app wins BSP hackathon

Pensyon PH, an app-based retirement fund manager by ATRAM, was named as the best open finance platform during a hackathon organized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The app enables individual users to track how close they are in reaching their financial goals and receive recommendations and educational materials on how to achieve them effectively.

As an open finance platform, the app manages and stores data from different financial institutions with the consent of the user and cybersecurity features.

The hackathon called Race to the Future: The Open Finance PH Hackathon is a brainstorming contest on technologies done over a short period or from 15 July to 7 August.

The BSP organizes hackathons to help spur innovations on consumers’ financial management, provision of capital to micro, small and medium enterprises, and digital payments.

Open finance platforms unveiled

The BSP shared there were 37 out of 51 participants that submitted proposals for new open finance platforms, which included banks and non-bank financial institutions, information technology firms, financial technology companies, payment systems operators, trust companies, and government offices.

“Open Finance is best implemented in tandem with the industry and this hackathon offers great examples of open, interoperable, and scalable applications that can address the evolving needs of Filipino consumers,” IFC country manager Jean-Marc Arbogast said.

ATRAM’s winning team is composed of Bea Charmelyn T. Lambitco, Jan Franz A. Palngipang, Aaron Lemuel C. Reyes and Alvin G. Usigan.

As the prize, the BSP will shoulder their travel expenses to the Singapore Fintech Festival in November so they can further enrich their knowledge on financial technologies.

The other hackathon participants presented apps on credit scoring, agricultural financing, peer-to-peer lending, cross-platform payments, and financial dashboard for businesses.

According to business consultancy McKinsey & Company, the financial technology industry could grow three times faster than traditional banks by 2028.