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Lito Villanueva
Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation & Inclusion Officer, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC); Founding Chairman
FinTech Alliance PH & RCBC
Lito Villanueva is the Philippines’ foremost thought leader in digital transformation and sustainable inclusion.
As Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer of RCBC, he has led the bank’s digital revolution, earning over 400 awards, including seven consecutive Best Bank for Digital titles from Euromoney, the first in Asia.
Widely known as Mr. FinTech of the Philippines, he was also honored among PeopleAsia’s Men Who Matter 2025. He also serves as Chief Digital Transformation Advisor of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, Global Ambassador of the Asia FinTech Alliance, and Founding Chairman of FinTech Alliance PH, the country’s largest digital finance industry group with over 170 corporate members collectively driving more than 95% of digital retail financial transaction volume.
He holds two master’s degrees: one in Public Administration, magna cum laude, from the University of Santo Tomas, and another in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines. He also completed executive programs in Digital Transformation by Design at the University of Cambridge and Core Banking Leadership at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
A respected voice in business and tech media, he writes the regular column “Bytes” for The Philippine Star.
Speaking at SFF 2026
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2:50–3:15pmWed 18 NovFutureMatters StageHall 5, Singapore EXPOPremium
Technology Rewiring
What Are The Unintended Consequences of Scaling Agentic AI?
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Prof. Amanda BrockChief Executive OfficerOpenUK
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Brian O'ConnorChief Technology Officer, Commercial & New Payments FlowsMastercard
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Lito VillanuevaExecutive Vice President & Chief Innovation & Inclusion Officer, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC); Founding ChairmanFinTech Alliance PH & RCBC
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Virginie BarbotVice President, Southeast Asia, Financial TechnologyNasdaqModerator
About this session
As financial institutions move agentic AI into core business, gains in growth, productivity and efficiency may bring consequences that are harder to see—and harder to contain. Within firms, greater autonomy could reshape jobs, decision-making, accountability and operational risk. Across markets and governments, it raises questions about oversight, stability and who is responsible when agents act across institutional boundaries. Closing this series, the session looks beyond the promised gains to ask who benefits, who bears the costs, and how leaders can recognise and govern outcomes they did not intend.
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2:10–2:45pmThu 19 NovCatalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpen
Technology Rewiring
Asia's Financial Rewiring - Who Wins, Who Gets Left Behind?
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Jaclyn TsaiChairperson & Honorary ChairwomanAsia FinTech Alliance & Taiwan FinTech Association
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Lito VillanuevaExecutive Vice President & Chief Innovation & Inclusion Officer, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC); Founding ChairmanFinTech Alliance PH & RCBC
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Wilson BehCo-Founder & Immediate Past PresidentFintech Association of Malaysia
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Holly FangPresidentSingapore Fintech AssociationModerator
About this session
As ASEAN's fintech ecosystem matures, a bigger question emerges: will the region's technological progress translate into lasting competitive advantage in the global financial system? The rules of competition are changing. AI is reshaping financial services, digital assets are challenging traditional infrastructure, and geopolitical realignments are redirecting capital, talent and financial flows. Meanwhile, regulatory divergence and competing national priorities are testing ambitions for greater regional integration. These shifts will create winners and losers. Some markets will emerge as centres for next-generation financial innovation and infrastructure, while others risk losing relevance. Established financial centres and business models may find their traditional advantages increasingly challenged. Bringing together presidents of leading fintech associations across Asia, this candid discussion moves beyond familiar calls for regional collaboration to examine the difficult strategic choices facing individual markets. Which competitive advantages will endure? Where will the next financial champions emerge? Can Asian economies strengthen their collective influence while competing for the same opportunities?
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