Tala urges move beyond access in Philippine finance

Financial inclusion has advanced in recent years, but Tala says “access” is still a shallow measure of progress for the roughly three billion people worldwide who remain without formal credit needed to build long-term stability.

The Washington, D.C.-based Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, in its report “A three-billion-person challenge: Decision time for financial-sector leaders,” points to persistent barriers in connectivity, affordability, and security that keep many people from fully using digital financial services.

Tala, a fintech lender that positions itself as serving the “global majority,” is urging policymakers and service providers to use data and technology to turn digital access into opportunities for more inclusive growth, particularly for people who can open accounts but still struggle to save or borrow formally.

New data highlighted in the Atlantic Council report shows that 84% of adults in low- and middle-income economies own a device capable of accessing digital financial services and 75% have a financial account, yet usage remains far lower.

On average, only 40% of adults in those economies save formally and just 24% have accessed formal credit, leaving about three billion adults unable to meaningfully use these services to fund businesses or better absorb economic shocks.

The report also warns that expanding digital finance can increase exposure to data misuse, fraud, and cybercrime, worsening trust problems that already hold back adoption, while inconsistent internet connectivity and high costs can further limit real-world use.

Asked about these challenges during the report’s launch event on Jan. 15, Tala CEO and founder Shivani Siroya said the company builds trust by embedding transparency into its practices, including pricing without hidden fees and clearer disclosure about how customer data is used, with the stated goal of shifting control back to consumers.

For 12 years, Tala has said its mission has been to move beyond access by helping people protect money, use it, and grow it over time. “You need to have choice, awareness, and control as a consumer where you are not forced into a system and you’re seen as a true consumer that has potential like the rest. I think there’s dignity in that, ” Siroya said during the launch event.

The Atlantic Council report also cites Tala’s Global Debt Collection with Dignity Initiative as a model framework for regulating debt collection firms and practices that national authorities could adapt, as regulators grapple with consumer protection in fast-growing digital credit markets.

The report notes it was made possible in part by a grant from Tala, a disclosure that underscores the close engagement between researchers and industry as digital finance rules evolve.

In the Philippines, the press release points to a gender gap inside the digital finance ecosystem, saying 59% of women used mobile money in the last seven of 30 days, compared with 71% of men, and linking the difference to lower confidence and a shortage of services designed around women’s needs.

That gender lens is especially relevant in a market where account ownership and digital usage are still uneven across income groups and communities, with the World Bank’s Global Findex reporting that 50% of Filipino adults had a financial account in 2024 and 40% made or received digital payments, highlighting both progress and remaining gaps.

Ultimately, Tala and the report argue that closing the access-to-usage gap will require urgent, coordinated action by the public and private sectors to improve connectivity, reduce costs, strengthen consumer safeguards, and build trust so account holders can fully participate in the formal financial system.