The Philippines needs to deepen its pool of advanced financial technology (fintech) talent, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, despite having an established information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector and a large base of English-proficient workers, according to a joint report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Global Fintech Institute (GFI).

The report, “Bridging the Divide: An ASEAN Fintech Skills Framework for Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam,” published last Monday, Aug. 10, found persistent skills gaps across the four Southeast Asian economies covered by the study.

Prepared by Singapore-headquartered think tank GFI with support from the Manila-based ADB, the study estimated an overall technical skills gap of 48 percent and a soft skills gap of 46 percent across Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

For the Philippines, the report said the country could build on its existing service-sector and IT-BPM workforce as it shifts toward more advanced technical competencies.

While the Philippines benefits from a strong IT-BPM sector and English-proficient talent, the report pointed to shortages in advanced technical fields such as AI and cybersecurity.

The skills shortage comes as the Philippines rapidly adopts digital financial services. The share of digital payment transactions in total monthly retail payments rose to 52.8 percent in 2023 from 42.1 percent in 2022, exceeding the target under the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap.

Despite this progress, the Philippines was assessed at only a “developing” proficiency level in digital payments, regulatory technology (RegTech), cybersecurity, digital lending, and AI-enabled services. The report identified AI-enabled services as the country’s most critical technical gap, while digital lending was given greater priority in the Philippines and Vietnam than in Singapore.

The country also received a “basic” assessment for technology and infrastructure awareness, with infrastructure gaps limiting proficiency and practical application. Core financial services, regulatory and compliance, risk and security, and fintech and digital innovation knowledge were all assessed at the “developing” level.

The gaps are already affecting businesses, with 88 percent of Philippine respondents saying skills shortages have a high impact on their organizations’ ability to meet business objectives. Another 88 percent considered addressing the skills gap an immediate priority.

Organizations in the Philippines and Singapore more often identified innovation and development as areas affected by skills shortages, while those in Indonesia and Vietnam more frequently pointed to risk and compliance.

Meanwhile, the Philippines had 13 fintech-related programs in the study’s sample, consisting of government digital and cybersecurity courses, a small number of academic programs, and private boot camps.

The report described the country’s training portfolio as fairly advanced, with a strong focus on foundational and intermediate digital skills, although fintech specialization remains limited.

Across the four economies, the report found that technical expertise alone is insufficient, underscoring the need to combine it with soft skills and industry knowledge.

Under its proposed Technical Skills, Soft Skills, and Industry Knowledge (TSI) framework, technical skills cover competencies required to develop and secure fintech products, while soft skills include problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and leadership. Industry knowledge covers financial services, regulation, risk, and market context.

The report said employers expect technical expertise to be accompanied by financial services understanding and the ability to work across business and technology functions. Digital payments, RegTech, cybersecurity, digital lending, and AI-enabled services emerged as priority technical domains across the four markets.

At the regional level, the report recommended developing more structured cross-border mobility pathways, including a possible digital skills passport or comparable credentialing mechanism, alongside practitioner-led certifications validated by the industry and, where appropriate, informed by regulators.

For emerging markets (EMs) like the Philippines, the report also pointed to public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a means of providing practice-oriented training and exposing workers to real-world fintech applications and regulatory requirements. PPPs with universities and training providers were identified by 61 percent of surveyed businesses as the most effective policy intervention for closing skills gaps.

Government-led initiatives such as the Philippines’ AI Academy could also support the transition of workers into AI-related roles and help address shortages in AI and cybersecurity skills.

The report said fintech-related training across the four markets remains uneven in depth and specialization, with the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam generally having programs concentrated on foundational digital skills, general information and communications technology (ICT), or a smaller number of institutions compared with Singapore.

The findings were based partly on a September 2025 survey of 100 middle- to senior-level fintech professionals, with 25 respondents each from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. The report noted that the country-level findings indicate general trends rather than definitive results due to the small sample size. - Danielle T. Bayani