Credit perception flat despite fintech boom
Filipinos’ attitudes toward formal credit barely budged over the past year despite the growing popularity of fintechs, according to new data from TransUnion, as anxieties over fraud and steep rates for first-time borrowers continue to hold back wider adoption.
The credit information provider said its Credit Perception Index (CPI), which measures openness and trust toward formal lending, stood at 73 out of 100 in 2025—down a single point from last year. With a survey margin of error of 2.8 percentage points, the change was statistically negligible.
But TransUnion cast the steady reading as a sign of “overall stability,” underpinned by “well-established understanding of credit and a growing appetite to engage with financial products”.
“This year’s CPI results tell us that Filipinos are eager to learn more about financial options that are relevant, accessible and suited for their needs,” Peter Faulhaber, president and CEO of TransUnion Philippines, said.
Yet beneath the headline figure, the survey revealed soft spots.
Credit messaging receptivity—the likelihood that consumers would consider borrowing after being informed of potential benefits—fell by nine points. TransUnion attributed the decline partly to macroeconomic headwinds, including elevated interest rates, and partly to a surge in concern about online fraud, which has grown more visible alongside the rapid digitization of payments.
The report drew from a survey of 1,165 Filipinos spanning three groups: the general population, the unbanked and users of financial technology services. All three groups ranked high borrowing costs as the top deterrent to credit use.
Fraud was the second-most cited obstacle, with 52 percent of the general population, 47 percent of the unbanked and 52 percent of fintech users pointing to scams and digital theft as reasons for hesitation.
These figures, TransUnion said, highlight “widespread apprehension about security threats across different population groups, regardless of their CPI score.”
There were, however, glimmers of optimism. Trust in formal credit products climbed six points to 74.
Meanwhile, interest in learning about specific credit products grew, especially for payday loans (+7 points), micro loans (+7 points), mobile loans (+6 points), personal loans (+5 points), and buy now, pay later (BNPL) (+5 points).
Most commonly used FinTech products include eWallets (77 percent), online banks (51 percent), and digital payment apps (47 percent). Notably, over one-third (35 percent) of the general population reported an eWallet as their first financial product, surpassing bank accounts (30 percent).
“To fully unlock the benefits of credit and drive broader adoption, we must continue addressing persistent barriers – especially concerns around fraud and security that still deter many Filipinos from engaging with credit,” Faulhaber said.
