by Joel Pinaroc, Correspondent
Skyro, considered as one of the fastest growing fintech companies in the Philippines since setting up shop in the country almost two years ago, has established a network of over 500 partner merchants and a presence in more than 3,000 stores across the Philippines.
From a small team of 42 employees back in 2022, Skyro has expanded its workforce to more than 1,200 employees, housed in an expansive and modern office space.
Nasim Aliev, Skyro founder and CEO, shares fintech insights and trends
In an exclusive interview with Fintechnewsph.com, Nasim Aliev, Skyro’s co-founder, and co-CEO, shares some insights and trends on fintech as well as the company’s plans for future expansion and product offerings.
Philippine operations
Aliev disclosed that currently, Skyro has 300,000 customers, but by the end of the year, this customer base is expected to double.
“It’s all about looking at opportunities. In the Philippines, the market was interesting, with a huge young population, and our competencies will be well-suited for the market,” he shared.
He added that the business and regulatory environment in the Philippines is also very welcoming.
“The (Philippine) financial market is also welcoming for international companies. Not only fintech but banking regulators are also open and well-respected,” Aliev further stated.
Looking at the unbanked and underbanked
Further, Aliev said Skyro keeps a keen eye on putting in efforts to address the country’s unbanked and underbanked.
“Putting efforts into the underbanked sector creates moral satisfaction. When you say unbanked, it means no one has ever touched the bank. While underbanked, these people may have touched the bank, but the services are not designed for them. It is too difficult; people may have access, but it may not be reachable,” Aliev said.
One key trend he noted is the extensive use of digital wallets by those considered “underbanked.”
“For example, 60 per cent to 70 per cent of our customers are okay with receiving their loans through the bank, but they pay us with GCash. The convenience of GCash is quite high, which is what we observed. They have banks but most of the time, they are not being used,” he noted.
Products and services
Aliev also shared that Skyro continues to focus on offering innovative products.
“Now our main offerings are POS loans and cash loans. We don’t sell cash to the open market anymore. Decision-making is based on data; we need data for decision-making. A digital footprint needs to be collected (not necessarily connected to their banking behavior) for Skyro to approve customers to get a loan,” Aliev explained.
“An example is given: A person’s phone number can say a lot about a digital footprint, how many times it’s been used, how old the number is, and what it is connected to. This shows that a customer is not a fraud, compared to someone who applies for a loan and has a phone number that was recently registered,” he added.
Use of technology and data to deliver better services
Aliev said that one of Skyro’s competitive edges is its use of data in its decision-making and by partnering with merchants and like-minded companies. “By being fast — using data, and the latest products — yes, and having more partner merchants. For example, if a partner merchant sells a product to a customer, the merchant gets the money instantly, not in 1-2 days like with our other competitors. For Skyro, it is an instant transaction all done online. And immediately.”
“Instapay, for example, allows you to pay instantly. We use Instapay for our merchants,” he added.
Speaking of merchants, Aliev said Skyro is unique in such a way that it is a “B2B2C” company.
“I would separate these (merchants and customers) into two different types of clients. It depends on the services they develop. Merchants are our business. Our business is called B2B2C, so we go to them and offer services to our merchants — a tool to help them make more money. I give them a tool to make more money because then they can sell more to their customers. This tool helps them increase the average check and the number of sales,” Aliev explains.
“In general, if business is low, this is what we do: we help them. One thing we’re good and efficient at is helping them with data. I need to be really aware of their needs. If we help them, there are sales to their customers. We have to be good here, and we have to be good with our customers,” he further stated.
A competitive market
Skyro is not the first to offer online lending in the country, which is now one of the biggest growing markets for “alternative and traditional” lending.
But for Aliev, lending is just but one aspect.
“Lending is a complicated process. Each part of the business creates value. Lending companies need people, experience, etc. And it can take years. For the customers in the Philippines, we want to improve the business environment for everyone (lending, etc.),” Aliev said, noting that one challenge that online lenders need to overcome is bringing more data sources.
So, is it difficult to find digital information about a person?
Aliev said digital information need not be too difficult. “Just by checking your mobile number, for example, or checking your financial score, etc. This is more to check for fraudulent behavior. Apart from fraudulent behavior, your mobile phone is connected to many things that can show a lot about the type of person or customer (you are).”
What is on the horizon for Skyro?
Aliev said that as a startup, Skyro was able to get more than 100,000 sales in less than a year since the company’s launch in late 2022.
“As a startup, we don’t give loans twice to the same person (due to the risks). Next year, we’d like to get 125,000 more. We grew too high (and fast), and we were wary since there were many risks. When you’re young, you have many risks but we were able to decrease this (risk) by 2.5 times.”
Aliev also disclosed that Skyro is keen on establishing more partnerships with banks. “If we are showing good economics, banks are starting to trust our business. But, how do we gain partners with banks? They see that we have a profitable business. They see the profit and they pledge for us to give them the incoming receipts, and then banks give us the loan. Banks will test us first,” he said.
The executive also said he is optimistic that regulators will move “faster” for technology to move as well.
“Both regulators and lawyers need to look at loans for the right business. Regulators are good in the Philippines —open, welcoming, and listening. But they could work faster. We should be faster, and regulators should be looking to disapprove/approve/question,” he noted.
However, Aliev said he is glad that the Philippines now has its own QRPH infrastructure.
“The goal and infrastructure aim to have payments faster, and the QRPH is a positive improvement in the Philippines. Another positive improvement we at Skyro fully support is the Philippine National ID,” Aliev further stated.
Lastly, Aliev said the Philippines is on track to be a “cashless” country.
“It needs to be important for the market to know how this works and the convenience of it. We have the technology, but we need education, with more people and businesses needing to understand how this works,” he said.