Technology has made financial services more accessible, faster, and more inclusive, especially for those underserved by traditional banking.
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This is the power of embedded finance, which seamlessly integrates financial services into everyday platforms and digital experiences, allowing people to access them when and where they need them most. Through digital platforms, more users now gain access to credit that was previously out of reach.
At Money20/20 Asia 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand, Fuse Financing Inc. President and CEO Tony Isidro shared how GCash is improving access to credit for small businesses. By using its artificial intelligence (AI) driven proprietary underwriting tool, GCash enables faster and frictionless funding- no need to submit documents and no waiting time- for first-time borrowers who have long been excluded from formal financing. This expands access to a broad range of users, including merchants who require capital to scale their business.
In this event, fintech leaders gathered to talk about how robust infrastructure allows lenders to make faster decisions while maintaining responsible lending standards. This approach supports the growth of embedded finance, where credit is offered directly within platforms that businesses already use.
Addressing the lending crisis for SMEs
The scale of the problem is hard to ignore. Most micro-enterprises in the Philippines operate informally. That means they have no collateral, credit history, or financial statements— requirements commonly looked for by traditional financial institutions.
As a result, many Philippine SMEs, around 57%, still rely on informal lenders with extremely high interest rates, leaving businesses without access to formal credit and making it harder for them to restock, expand, or manage daily operations.
What makes this especially frustrating, Isidro noted, is that these businesses are not invisible. They transact every day and have customers, sales, and cash flow.
Fuse Financing President and CEO, Tony Isidro, stressed the importance of real-time data in assessing creditworthiness and democratizing credit access to MSMEs.
Fuse Financing addresses this issue by providing a more transparent alternative to lending within the GCash app, giving access to simplified loan process and collateral-free loans, allowing first-time borrowers to secure their own financing seamlessly
“By integrating financial services directly within the app, we are dismantling traditional barriers to lending, such as heavy documentary requirements and physical distance. This evolution isn't just about speed; it’s about meaningful financial inclusion. We are transforming how credit is accessed through technology, empowering more small businesses with lines of credit to achieve a level of economic resilience that was previously out of reach,” Isidro said.
Empowering grassroots entrepreneurs
Products like GLoan Negosyo give merchants access to up to Php 350,000 within the GCash app, while GLoan Negosyo under the GCash for Business portal gives users access to up to Php 2 million in working capital, structured around their actual sales cycles and inventory needs. Disbursements and repayments occur entirely through the GCash app, which matters most for borrowers in remote areas who cannot easily reach a physical branch.
Backing this is a Php 1.75 billion credit facility from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), directed specifically at women-led and rural micro, small, and medium enterprises. This signifies how institutional capital is beginning to follow where fintech has already gone.
With these initiatives, small business owners are given access to the financing they need to grow, reducing friction to business expansion and day-to-day operations.
For more information, please visit www.gcash.com.
