Philippines bags first SFF Global Fintech ASEAN Leader Award

Digital Pilipinas Convenor Amor Maclang cited for work in Fintech in ASEAN

MANILA,Philippines,Nov. 7,2022 -- Digital Pilipinas and Philippine Fintech Festival Convenor Amor Maclang wins the first ASEAN Fintech Leader Award for the Philippines in recognition of her efforts to create strong cross-border collaborations across the region.

Amor Maclang (center) receives her Global Fintech ASEAN Leader award from Jia Hang,General Manager of SEA,Ant Group (left) and Shadab Taiyabi,President of the Singapore FinTech Association (right).

The Global FinTech Awards was held as part of the prestigious Singapore FinTech Festival in Singapore,the premier gathering of fintech and digital economies players around the world.

"Fintech is the one pillar that can make our digital economy even more Antifragile,not just resillient. This award is a symbol not just of a global interest in the promise of a Digital Pilipinas but moreover in a one Digital ASEAN. After all,the biggest Fintech in the world is not one company,but ASEAN. I share this with all the incredible Fintech leaders across the region who are tirelessly working together," Maclang said.

The SFF Global FinTech Awards,which was launched in 2021,represent the industry's highest accolade for FinTech innovation. Presented by The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS),the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA),and The Association of Banks in Singapore,as supported by PwC Singapore,it recognizes innovative FinTech solutions by FinTech companies,financial institutions,technology companies. It also awards individuals and companies that have been instrumental in creating new growth opportunities,transforming FinTech industry practices and promoting financial inclusion.

In a statement,Sopnendu Mohanty,Chief FinTech Officer,MAS,said this year's winners "have demonstrated strong potential to tackle real-world problems,while allowing the financial sector to harness the tremendous benefits of new technologies in their journey towards a greener digital future."

Shadab Taiyabi,President of Singapore FinTech Association,for his part said that the recognitions celebrate the individuals and the enterprises "that are making a positive impact on the FinTech ecosystem and at the same time,encourage and foster a culture of continued innovation within the FinTech sector."

As a known movement maker across ASEAN,Maclang has led cross-functional and cross-border collaborations among regional and national line agencies,industry leaders,academes,policymakers,and various stakeholders both from the private and public sectors.

Maclang has also spurred and created platforms for FinTech to flourish in the country as the Convenor of The Philippine Fintech Festival,The One ASEAN Fintech Movement and the Philippine representative to the ASEAN Blockchain Consortium. In the Philippines,she is the Executive Director and Trustee of the Fintech Philippine Association and Co-founder of leading nascent technology ecosystem advisory firm GeiserMaclang.

Apart from Maclang,the other recipients of the ASEAN Fintech Leader Awards were Atome Financial's David Chen,VSure Group's Eddy Wong,BigPay's Salim Dhanani,and Western Union's Sohini Rajola.

The theme for the 2022 Awards is "Embracing Digital,Charting the New Normal" in acknowledgment of the accelerated pace of digitalization in businesses over the last two years. The winners were chosen by an international panel comprising industry experts across multiple domains and are judged based on the criteria of impact,innovation,and contribution to the FinTech ecosystem.