Collaboration will help lenders expand relevant and responsible credit access for more Filipinos

Peter Faulhaber, President and CEO at TransUnion Philippines and Jason Crasto, Country Manager for Mastercard in the Philippines

Following a successful pilot program, TransUnion Philippines, an information and insights company, and Mastercard (NYSE: MA), a global technology company in the payments industry, are working together to give financial institutions a broader and more timely view of consumers’ financial behavior. 

By combining TransUnion’s comprehensive credit, identity and alternative data insights with Mastercard’s aggregated transaction intelligence, the collaboration supports stronger decision‑making, more meaningful customer engagement for lenders, and sustainable growth across the Philippines’ lending ecosystem.

TransUnion, the Philippines’ first private comprehensive credit reference agency, helps institutions better understand consumers’ likelihood and ability to maintain credit commitments – even those who may not have held a credit product before. Mastercard’s behavioral signals, which are based on aggregated indicators of spending activity, further complement and supplement these insights, enhancing lenders’ understanding of consumers’ financial capacity and risk.

For lenders, the collaboration will strengthen how institutions identify and engage credit‑ready consumers. New‑to‑Credit (with no credit history) and thin‑file (with minimal credit history) consumers can be difficult to assess using traditional information alone, as there may be insufficient data to support confident decisioning. The enriched insights generated will allow lenders to reduce friction in the application review process, and better tailor and align product offerings with consumers’ demonstrated financial patterns.

The combined view helps financial institutions distinguish between applicants with similar profiles, understand emerging opportunities within existing portfolios, and engage customers appropriately based on wider financial activity.

For consumers, the outcome is a decision process that is more accurate, timely and reflective of their financial behavior, resulting in credit experiences that feel more personalized, accessible and suited to their personal circumstances. Ultimately, this will contribute to greater financial inclusion, enabling Filipinos to access more economic opportunities.

In addition to the expanded data coverage, Mastercard — through its consulting services — has collaborated with TransUnion to enhance data propositions for financial institutions, portfolio margin optimization and strengthened collections strategies.

“This collaboration builds on TransUnion’s existing strengths in alternative data and analytics,” said Peter Faulhaber, President and CEO at TransUnion Philippines. “By enriching our existing insights with Mastercard’s behavioral data, we’re helping institutions make more confident decisions while ensuring more Filipinos, especially those with limited credit histories, can be offered fair and relevant access to the financial system.”

“Mastercard is committed to strengthening the foundations of a more inclusive financial ecosystem,” said Jason Crasto, Country Manager for Mastercard in the Philippines. “Our collaboration with TransUnion brings together complementary data assets that help financial institutions see a fuller picture of everyday economic participation. This combined intelligence enables lenders to design responsibly, grow sustainably and extend credit opportunities to people who have historically been underserved.”

At the center are Peter Faulhaber, President and CEO at TransUnion Philippines, and Jason Crasto, Country Manager for Mastercard in the Philippines. With them (from left) are TransUnion leaders Nolan Empalmado, Business Head, Financial Services; Rowena Cristobal, Director, Product Management; Amrita Bhattacharya, Chief Operating Officer, Asia-Pacific; and  Yogesh Daware, Chief Commercial Officer, together with Mastercard executives Tamish Dhamani, Director, Credit Risk Business Development, Asia-Pacific; Arlene Magtira, Vice President, Account Management, Philippines; and Pradeep Mathew, Director, Product Management Asia-Pacific

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