JuanHand: Double-digit loan growth likely ’til 2030

JUANHAND Lending Corp. expects the Philippine financial technology (fintech) industry to sustain high-double-digit loan growth through 2030, after a resilient performance last year despite weaker business sentiment.

“We’re in a great position for fintech  because it’s still growing on high double-digit, even for 2026 and beyond,” President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco “Coco” Mauricio told a news briefing on Wednesday.

“We expect the growth to be very high double-digit until at the very least 2030,” he added.

The fintech sector expanded 27% year on year in 2025, buoyed by strong demand for online lending despite a corruption scandal that dampened overall business confidence in the latter half of the year.

JuanHand itself recorded a compounded annual growth rate of 89% over the past five years, effectively doubling its business annually.

The company reported more than 100,000 transactions a day and P4 billion in loan disbursements each month last year. Its platform also surpassed 65 million downloads, 20 million registered users and 4 million active borrowers at any given time.

Mr. Mauricio credited the company’s robust anti-fraud systems for supporting growth.

He said their proprietary cybersecurity platform prevented almost all attempted fraud. Only 0.0001% of transactions initially bypassed the system, and those were eventually stopped, he added.

JuanHand also said it would comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) interest rate and fee caps for small consumer loans, despite previously proposing a tiered approach.

“JuanHand is in support of regulation and the SEC. We have followed the previous 15%, and there is no reason for us again not to comply with the 12% limit coming April 2026,” said Francis Jasper Fulgar, head of external affairs.

The SEC in December capped nominal interest rates at 6% per month and effective interest rates at 12% per month for loans up to P10,000 with terms of up to four months.

Mr. Mauricio noted that these limits apply primarily to smaller loans, which make up more than 15% of the industry’s total loan book.

Despite regulatory changes, executives said the fintech sector is poised for long-term growth, with increasing adoption of digital lending platforms expected to drive further participation from households and small borrowers. — Aaron Michael C. Sy