Salmon, Oradian seal partnership serving unbanked Filipinos

Oradian has included fintech innovator Salmon in its roster of valued customers, providing expertise by adopting Oradian's advanced core system to drive its growth strategy, and to help the government attain its goal of improving the numbers of unbanked Filipino

Currently servicing tens of thousands of customers, Salmon is a consumer fintech company built by a team of finance professionals and entrepreneurs and backed by world-class investors that develop better and more inclusive financial products with a focus on innovation, flexibility, security, relentless focus on customer care and added value for clients.

The fintech firm started originally with in-store purchase financing, as Salmon had intended to expand its range of financial services to cover all the daily needs of clients in the Philippines and beyond, bridging the financial inclusion gap for millions of consumers.

"We're delighted to have found a technology partner in Oradian. As we enter a new stage of our institutional development and ready ourselves to deliver new product offerings, Oradian provides some essential tools that will power our continued growth," said George Chesakov, CEO and co-founder of Salmon in a press conference on Wednesday.

Founded in 2022, Salmon has already attracted a cumulative $36 million in equity and debt funding, reflecting deep confidence in its business model and growth potential.

Essential recipe

"Oradian offers a vital combination of flexible, scalable, best-in-class technology and comprehensive in-market customer support and expertise that enables us to drive growth, scale rapidly, and boost our performance. This is an essential recipe for remaining competitive in an increasingly crowded fintech landscape," said Chesakov.

Salmon's early success is indicative of the strength and health of the Philippines' financial technology market, particularly as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the national government seek to promote digital lending and boost financial inclusion.

The BSP in its report last month said 22 million Filipinos have gained access to formal financial accounts between 2019 and 2021.

According to the 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey of the BSP, 34.3 million Filipino adults remained unbanked, as the country's banked population was at about 56 percent of all adults in 2021, improving from just 29 percent in 2019.

First cloud-native core banking system

Oradian, the first cloud-native core banking system to be used by BSP-regulated financial institutions in the Philippines, has been serving institutional customers for more than 10 years, enabling enhanced growth and performance with its cloud-native, API-enabled platform.

Reflecting on this new partnership, Antonio Separovic, CEO and  co-founder of Oradian said: "Oradian's mission is to partner with high-growth, tech-enabled financial institutions to drive growth and promote financial inclusion for last-mile communities.

"Oradian's system is designed for sophisticated tech-led teams like Salmon that leverage technology to scale financial services throughout the entire community — we're excited to work alongside George and Salmon's team as they meet these goals."