A new study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reveals that Filipino families are now making financial decisions in more complex and collaborative ways—patterns that financial institutions and fintech companies have yet to fully address. The findings, presented by BCG leaders during a briefing in Manila, underscore the growing need for technology solutions that recognize families—not individuals—as the country’s primary economic unit.
Understanding Families Is Key to Understanding the Filipino Consumer
Anthony Oundijian, a Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG, explained that the firm’s goal is to better understand how Filipinos make financial choices and how companies can respond to these evolving behaviors. “For us to deliver on this purpose, we really, really need to understand the consumers,” he said, noting that last year’s “Filipino Dream” report laid the groundwork for a deeper dive into family-centered decision-making. This year, he added, the team turned to families because “it was a realization that a lot of people don’t just dream about themselves. They dream about what’s good for their families, what’s good for their friends.”
According to BCG during the media briefing on The Filipino Family: Public Launch, the study surveyed 1,515 families nationwide representing roughly 6,387 Filipinos—ensuring a balanced sample across income brackets, regions, and household types. Julian Cua, Managing Director and Partner of BCG said the motivation behind their extensive fieldwork is the persistent lack of granular market data. “What really drives us is about understanding how the market works. And for me, personally, I’ve always been frustrated about the lack of data about the market,” he said.
The research highlights major gaps between how Filipino families actually manage money and how financial products are designed. While banks and fintech apps focus largely on individual users, BCG’s findings show that most financial decisions—savings, loans, remittances, and even budgeting are made jointly by multiple family members.
FinTech Products Still Built for Individuals—Despite Collective Decision-Making
BCG Principal Lance Katigbak noted this disconnect, saying, “Multiple people make decisions in multiple things, yet we always design products, services, experiences as if it’s always just for one person.” He pointed out that even simple tools like loyalty memberships or digital banking features often restrict shared access, despite households functioning collectively. “Why is it that our systems are not designed in this way?” he asked.
This mismatch has deeper implications for savings and financial security. The study shows that top household priorities—such as health emergency funds, large savings pools, and children’s education require financial tools that support collaborative planning. Families are also exposed to recurring financial shocks, and these risks shape their decisions. As Cua explained, “Health is really important in this country, everyone gets reminded that, yeah, I can’t chase after my other dreams if I need to save up and pool money to pay for that bill of someone.”
Katigbak also highlights the complex money flows within homes according to the research. In dual-earner families, “the mom spends what she earns. The dad, his money goes to the kids.” Meanwhile, solo parents around 14% of respondents show patterns where “the parent usually assigns a lot of decision-making and the spending to the daughters who end up taking a little bit more of that responsibility.”
These financial behaviors extend to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), who continue to serve as major decision-makers at home. Many control the majority of household budgets as the primary reason for the OFWs to move abroad is to support their families—yet fintech systems rarely offer features that allow them to co-manage expenses, authorize purchases, or participate in digital banking choices remotely.
A Call for FinTech Innovation: Build for Families, Not Just Individuals
BCG emphasized that fintech companies have a significant opportunity to redesign tools that reflect real-world financial behavior: multi-user bank accounts, shared app interfaces, collaborative budgeting dashboards, and family-linked decision workflows. As Cua emphasized, firms must rethink how they approach the Filipino consumer. “We try to dive into their world, to go beyond the data, so we can, together, have a conversation on what it takes to bring the country forward.”
With financial technologies increasingly shaping how Filipinos save, spend, and protect themselves from risk, BCG’s report signals a pivotal moment that fintech must evolve—not for individuals, but for families who make decisions as one.
