The ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026, themed “Building ASEAN’s Digital Economy: Secure. Sustainable. Inclusive. Borderless.”, was held on 28–29 July 2026 at the Manila Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom, Newport City, Pasay City, Manila. Organized by FinTech Alliance.PH, the two-day Summit brought together policymakers, regulators, financial executives, technology companies, investors and innovators to discuss ASEAN’s transition toward a more integrated digital economy.
The Summit attracted an exceptionally strong regional and international turnout, with more than 5,600 delegates from 30 countries attending the opening day alone. Participants represented governments, regulators, financial institutions, fintech companies, technology providers, investors and startups from ASEAN and other global markets. International fintech participation also extended across the 16 member economies of the Asia FinTech Alliance, while major corporate sponsors and partners included companies such as TransUnion, Converge ICT, Huawei, Skyro, ADVANCE.AI, Grab, Coins.ph, IDfy, Phi Commerce, Amdocs and Blockshoals. The scale and diversity of participation underscored the Summit’s growing role as an important regional platform connecting policymakers, financial institutions and technology companies.
In his opening message, Lito Villanueva, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer of RCBC and Founding Chairman of FinTech Alliance.PH, emphasized the need to turn ASEAN’s digital ambitions into practical action. He described the goal as building a digital economy that is “not only innovative, but interoperable, secure and inclusive at scale,” while advancing the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement from aspiration toward implementation.
Summit discussions focused on artificial intelligence, digital assets, cybersecurity, digital payments and cross-border financial connectivity. Speakers examined how ASEAN can develop interoperable systems that facilitate commerce across national boundaries while maintaining security, consumer protection and public trust. Financial inclusion was also highlighted as essential to ensuring that digital transformation benefits businesses and communities across the region.
Mig Moreno, Deputy Secretary-Treasurer of the Asian Bankers Association (ABA), and Shirish Pathak, Managing Director of Fintelekt Advisory Services, joined the Summit activities and engaged with participants across the fintech ecosystem. Their participation provided valuable opportunities to network with fintech companies offering payment and related digital solutions to banks, while exchanging views on the evolving technology needs of financial institutions.
Overall, the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026 highlighted the importance of collaboration among governments, regulators, banks, fintech companies and technology providers in shaping ASEAN’s digital future. Its central message was that innovation must be supported by security, sustainability, inclusion and interoperability to create a more connected, competitive and resilient regional digital economy.
