Pluang, an investment platform from Indonesia that serves millions of users, is the first fintech to officially participate in the Strategic Sandbox (StratBox) program under the auspices of PhiliFintech Innovation Office (PhiliFINNO) from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This achievement made the first Pluang fintech allowed to test a model for providing access to US fractional stocks in the Philippines with a regularized asset class that was previously not locally available to most retail investors there.
This pilot program allows Filipinos to invest in US stocks with capital ranging from PHP100 (equivalent to IDR 29,000), and provides exposure to 30 large US exchange-listed companies, such as NVIDIA, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Tesla, and others. Stock purchases are made during US market hours.
Users transact in USD (American Dolar), where deposits of funds to the platform are easily made through the Philippine Peso. This product is designed with convenience and accessibility ethic, giving way for the wider community to invest in the global market through local platforms that are guaranteed regulation opening up opportunities for Filipinos who previously had minimal access to traditional investment channels to start building cross-generational welfare according to their own way and style of investing.
Pilots Of Agulated Access To US Shares For Philippine Investors
With the US stock market just hitting a record high, coupled with the AI revolution changing the global economic landscape, now Filipinos can directly access investment opportunities in the world's most transformative sectors (starting from) AI, green energy, biotechnology, and others. For the first time, they can build prosperity from opportunities that were previously just the dream of the previous generation, "said Richard Chua, Co-founder of Pluang, Thursday, June 5.
Pluang officially submitted a proposal to enter the testing room stage, or commonly known as 'sandbox', in 2024. In this testing phase, product access is limited to 1,000 users and subject to a transaction volume limit. This is in accordance with SEC recommendations to ensure strict monitoring, operational readiness, and regulatory control. The KYC (Know Your Customers) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) processes are not forgotten to be implemented.
The Anti of the Securities and Exchange Commission mission is to encourage the creation of a fair, efficient, and transparent capital market protecting the interests of public investors and supporting a dynamic corporate sector. In line with this mandate, we actively welcome innovations that can improve financial services, expand access, and ultimately contribute to national economic growth. Our commitment is to create an environment where responsible innovations can continue to develop, ensuring that the benefits of new technologies can be felt by all Filipinos, said Emilio Benito Aquino, Chairperson of the Philippine SEC, as quoted directly at the SEC StratBox: PhilFINNO's First Strategic Sandbox at the SEC Headquarters on Monday, June 2.
Advocacy For Public Policy For The Democratization Of Welfare
Pluang's participation in the StratBox program in the Philippines also reflects his long-term commitment to establishing an active partnership with policy makers to support democratization of community welfare development. In Indonesia itself, Pluang is one of the first fintechs to pursue close collaboration with regulators in establishing a legal framework that allows Indonesians to access US shares in a safe and regulated ecosystem.
This collaborative approach is also implemented in the Philippines, where Pluang actively partners with regulators to expand cross-border or cross-border investment access responsibly. This step paved the way for assets that were previously only available for limited groups to be accessible to the wider community.
Pluang's position in public policy is to become a strategic partner for regulators, ensuring a balance between investor protection and innovation. By sharing research results, technical insights, and data-based inputs, Pluang continues to export its best learning and practices to support other developing countries starting from the ASEAN region in forming a framework that suits their local needs," said Claudia Kolonas, Co-founder of Pluang.
Expanding Access To Welfare In Southeast Asia
Departing from its success in Indonesia in building a regulatory platform and focusing on users for digital gold investment, US shares, mutual funds, and crypto assets steps into the Philippines are part of a regional expansion strategy. With a strong foundation in the market and base of investors who are still underserved, Pluang sees the Philippines as the next step in its mission to become the most accessible multi-asset investment gateway in Southeast Asia.
This inaugural sandbox program is an important start to form strong regulations and provide benefits not only for retail investors, but also for regulators and ecosystem players. By operating in a framework like StratBox, Pluang is able to balance innovation with stable regulations to ensure that financial technological advances take place inclusively and sustainably.
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