For years, the Philippine financial services industry has focused on helping more Filipinos save, invest, and embrace digital finance. By many measures, that effort has succeeded.
Consumers today are opening multiple bank accounts, investing through digital platforms, using e-wallets, and actively managing their finances more than ever before.
But according to the latest Prosumer Report of Havas Ortega, this progress masks a more uncomfortable reality.
Filipinos are participating in the financial system, but many remain unconvinced that the institutions behind it have earned their trust.
Drawing from YouGov Profiles data, the study found that while Filipino Prosumers, the country’s most influential early adopters, are highly engaged in managing their finances, many continue to view financial institutions with caution.
Nearly all respondents (98%) actively look for investment opportunities, 93% intend to save more this year, and 90% maintain relationships with more than one bank. Yet despite this high level of engagement, 72% believe banks are largely indistinguishable from one another, while 70% feel financial institutions often prioritize their own interests over those of customers.
One of the report’s most striking findings is that behavior often interpreted as customer loyalty may actually be something else entirely.
Rather than placing all their confidence in a single institution, many Filipino consumers appear to be spreading their money across multiple providers as a practical way of managing uncertainty.
& Analytics at Havas Ortega
According to Phil Tiongson, General Manager, Head of MX and Data & Analytics at Havas Ortega, the findings challenge how the industry has traditionally interpreted consumer behavior.
“The numbers tell us that Filipino consumers are not disengaged from the financial system. They’re participating more than ever. But participation should not be mistaken for trust. Many of the behaviors we traditionally associate with customer loyalty, such as maintaining multiple banking relationships, may actually reflect consumers managing their own risk rather than expressing confidence in any single institution.”
The report also challenges another long-standing assumption.
Although 70% of respondents said financial matters remain confusing, the research suggests the issue may not simply be financial literacy. Instead, it raises questions about whether financial products have become unnecessarily complex and difficult for consumers to navigate.
Consumers who actively invest, save, and research economic news are clearly engaged in managing their finances. The report argues that the industry’s next challenge is making products and services easier to understand and easier to trust.
For Jos Ortega, Chairman and CEO of Havas Ortega, this represents an opportunity for the financial sector to rethink how trust is earned.
“The challenge isn’t convincing Filipinos to use financial products. They’ve already done that. The bigger question is whether institutions can build the kind of trust that encourages consumers to rely on them with confidence. Trust isn’t created through advertising alone. It’s built every day through products, transparency, customer service, and the experience people have when they need help the most.”
For banks, insurers, and fintech providers, the report concludes that future competitive advantage will depend less on acquiring new customers and more on building long-term trust through simpler products, greater transparency, and consistently better customer experiences.
Because Filipino Prosumers typically adopt attitudes and behaviors 18 to 24 months before the broader market, Havas Ortega believes these findings provide an early indication of how consumer expectations are evolving—and where the financial industry will need to adapt next.
