Global payments firm Visa has partnered with CIBI Information Inc., the Philippines’ pioneering credit bureau, to develop data-driven credit solutions aimed at bringing more underserved Filipinos into the formal financial system, particularly borrowers with little or no credit history.
Under a memorandum of understanding, Visa and CIBI will jointly explore and pilot tools that use alternative data and analytics to help banks, card issuers, and digital lenders extend credit more responsibly while managing risk.
The partnership combines Visa’s global payments technology and its Credit Lab, an end-to-end solution that integrates fraud detection with alternative data enrichment, with CIBI’s role as the country’s pioneering credit reporting agency.
“Credit scoring has long been a key gap in our industry, with many Filipinos remaining ‘thin-file’ despite their active participation in the economy,” said Jeffrey Navarro, country manager of Visa Philippines.
“Through this partnership, we look forward to complementing Visa’s Credit Lab with CIBI’s leadership as a credit bureau to innovate solutions that expand access to credit and set new industry benchmarks. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to inclusive growth and strengthening the digital economy.”
The companies said the collaboration is designed to help financial institutions expand credit acquisition for issuers, improve risk assessment for small and medium enterprises, and use data-driven insights to grow loan portfolios.
They said enhanced credit models using alternative data such as telecommunications, utilities, device, and behavioral information are expected to help lenders approve more thin-file consumers, gain better visibility into SME borrowers, and identify new customer segments.
“At CIBI, we believe that trusted data has the power to unlock opportunity,” said Pia Arellano, president and chief executive officer of CIBI Information Inc. “This partnership with Visa is deeply aligned with our purpose of building a more inclusive, transparent, and trusted financial ecosystem through data. When individuals and small businesses gain responsible access to credit, they gain the power to grow, to recover, and to contribute more meaningfully to the economy.”
Arellano said expanding access to credit must be accompanied by education and safeguards. “Access to credit must also come with empowerment,” she said. “Today, we do not simply sign an agreement—we affirm our shared responsibility to use data wisely, to enable inclusion, and to build a stronger financial future for the Philippines.”
Over the next 12 months, Visa and CIBI plan to test new credit use cases, generate insights on emerging credit behaviors, and support financial literacy initiatives nationwide.
“Our success will ultimately be measured by how many Filipinos we are able to include—securely, responsibly, and sustainably,” Arellano said.
Navarro added that they “look forward to the impact this collaboration will bring over the next 12 months and beyond.”
