Online cash lender JuanHand said it will comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) order to reduce the lending rate cap to 12 percent starting April 2026.

This move appears unlikely to dent the local consumer lending firm’s growth, as it remains upbeat that it can sustain the business momentum that has seen it nearly double in size annually over the past five years.

Francis Jasper Fulgar, head of external affairs at JuanHand, told reporters on Wednesday, Jan. 14, that the cash lender supports reducing the ceiling for interest rates to 12 percent from 15 percent previously and vowed to comply.

“We complied with the previous 15 percent, and there is no reason for us not to comply with the 12 percent this coming April 2026,” Fulgar said.

Fulgar explained that the new interest cap would apply to loan amounts of up to ₱10,000, including interest and all fees. Loans of this size likely account for about “15 percent and upwards.”

Last year, the Consumer Lending Association of the Philippines (CLAP), of which JuanHand is a member, submitted a position paper to the SEC proposing an alternative to the rate cut, including allowing loans of up to ₱20,000 with four- to six-month terms and a 10 percent monthly cap.

There was, however, no provision in the final circular adopting CLAP’s tiered proposal. As such, Fulgar said all compliant players will comply.

JuanHand President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco Roberto D.C. Mauricio told a press briefing on Wednesday that while the fintech lending industry expands by over a fourth annually, JuanHand has been nearly doubling its business yearly over the past five years.

“JuanHand has posted an 89-percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years,” Mauricio said. It had disbursed around ₱48 billion in the full year of 2025, translating to approximately ₱4 billion a month, which had been lent to around four million active borrowers.

Mauricio reported that the company has had over 65 million downloads, more than 20 million registrations, and over 100,000 transactions on a daily basis.

He expects the fintech industry to expand at a high, double-digit rate through 2030. “As fintech players grow, it means financial inclusion is rapidly expanding and more unbanked Filipinos are getting a credit footprint,” Mauricio said.

Meanwhile, the lender’s non-performing loans (NPLs), or bad loans, range from 10 to 13 percent annually, which Mauricio described as low compared with the industry standard.

JuanHand also takes pride in a very low fraud leakage rate, stressing that even those cases are immediately stopped before the actual transaction.

Further, JuanHand has entered into a partnership with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), an agency responsible for combating cybercrime in the Philippines, to protect borrowers from cyberattacks.