Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword in finance as it has become the lever that determines who gets to participate in the banking system and who remains shut out.

During the Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival, Alfred Lo, Group chief technology officer of Maya, joined global fintech leaders to examine how AI is redrawing the map of financial access.

While most discussions around banking modernization focus on digital apps and cashless payments, Lo pointed to a deeper shift: algorithms are beginning to decide creditworthiness, risk, and customer trust faster and more precisely than humans ever could.

Maya, which operates Maya Bank and Maya Philippines, has embedded AI throughout its financial stack — from payments and savings to lending and fraud detection.

The platform now processes tens of thousands of loan applications a day, screening behavioral and transactional data to approve or reject applicants within minutes.

Since its launch in 2022, the system has disbursed more than P152 billion in loans while reducing default rates, according to internal metrics.

The rapid automation contrasts sharply with the traditional Philippine banking environment, where access to credit remains narrow.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey found that only four percent of adults obtained loans from formal banks, while a majority still relied on informal lenders.

AI-driven decision systems, Lo argued, could narrow that gap — if applied responsibly.

Supporters say the technology eliminates subjective bias, speeds up approval processes, and offers smaller borrowers a digital paper trail that was previously unavailable.

Critics, however, note that such tools also raise questions about transparency and whether an opaque model can truly replace human judgment.

The festival drew 30,000 participants, featuring speakers from global institutions such as HSBC, Ant Group, and Mastercard.

While much of fintech’s hype now revolves around digital assets and cross-border innovation, the most consequential change may be more subtle: banking systems learning, calculating, and judging in real time — no loan officer required.